Silver Darkness (Extended)
by Eba-chan150
Summary: Silver is on a quest to close Genesis Portals. When he is about to close the newest one, Eclipse runs through it with Shadow on his tail. The next seconds are confusing, and Silver takes Eclipse's side, sending Shadow far away. But the conflict between brothers has to wait, as the planet is approached by a spaceship carrying a bigger threat.
1. The Story so Far (Prologue)

Nefarious Dr. Eggman tried to dominate the world once again, but his latest plan ended with the catastrophic aftermath, resulting in shattering the planet. Only thanks to mysterious powers and powerful water god the planet was spare of the worst – a complete annihilation.

However, this still led to many accidents, flooded cities, huge chunks of planet's surface floating in the sky, and spreading uneasiness among people.

Like that wasn't enough, Shadow the Hedgehog got his hands full with defending the planet from the second Black Arms' invasion. The race used to be led by a cruel alien named Black Doom who was killed by Shadow. That resulted in wiping most of the hive-mind controlled race.

Unbeknownst to him, there was another hive-mind of lesser level. The future of the man-eating race was now resting on Black Death's shoulders. He wanted nothing more than to avenge his master and restore the race to its previous glory. But for that, he needed a strong warrior capable of stopping Shadow and thus he created Eclipse the Darkling, the first one of his kind and sub-species of Black Arms.

Eclipse wasn't bound to hive-mind, having a chance to make his own decisions. He questioned Black Death's decision to kill Shadow, trying to convince him to convert his half-brother to their side. While this plan worked for a short time, it soon backfired, resulting in destructing of the remaining Black Arms aliens with the exception of Eclipse and unhatched eggs.

The alien escaped to shattered Mobius where some eggs hatched, bringing to the world another sub-species named Dark Arms. They were black wisps capable of granting to Eclipse various powers that aided him in a battle. It didn't take long for Shadow to encounter Eclipse for the second time, and the long fight ended in the draw with the aliens escaping once more.

However, what seemed like a problem of the present had consequences in the future of the Mobius. The energy and chaos powers were disrupted, resulting in forming of Genesis Portals that created gateways to different dimensions. If they would be left unattended, it could result in a collapse of many worlds, not just planets.

The only one capable of traveling thought and closing them is Silver the Hedgehog, a citizen from the future. He wasn't happy to do so, but there was no other way, so he set out on the road that took him to many strange worlds.

Note: This story is happening after Dark Trilogy published in Sonic Universe under Archie.


	2. The Fall (1-2)

Hi, if this story seems familiar to you then you have read it before :-D I have updated my older story of the same name. This version will be longer and heavily edited, giving you a better experience (I hope so) ;-) If you want you can read it on Wattpad too (username Witto150), I'll really appreciate it.

* * *

Silver the Hedgehog was levitating, surrounded by light, blue aura above a desert, which already swallowed half of the city seen on the horizon. He looked at his glove, where he had the Genesis portal radar. A blue circle on the back of his hand was shining light, forming a holographic display. A red dot was slowly flashing next to a cross that indicated Silver's current position relative to the portal. He deactivated the radar with his mind and frowned.

This was like the 200th vortex already, but it had seemed, they wouldn't stop popping up anytime soon. It was a daunting task, but it had to be done, and he wasn't intending to quit anytime soon. The silence was disrupted by a shvorn-like sound, announcing the opening of the trans-dimensional rift. The portal was connecting two different places across time and space, creating a hazard that one might pass it and end up forever trapped on the other side.

It was one of the reasons he was traveling to close them so no unfortunate person wouldn't be transported into Space or a world full of flames. And the other reason, he was the only one capable of closing them while having a power to defend himself from any danger. In other words, he had no chance to refuse. He looked at the purple, swirling energy that was the manifestation of the rift.

' _Alright, time to close this up before someone runs thr-'_ he thought, raising his arms. The closing process was suddenly interrupted by a black and red creature, jumping out of the portal, landing on a sand.

"Hey! Not again!" shouted the psychic, looking at the newcomer. He had never seen someone like that. At first, he reminded him of Shadow who he had met before. But this guy wasn't a hedgehog since they didn't have a long tail with a small hook or two clawed toes, although he had something like three quills.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he noticed the creature was shivering, desperately hugging something. The stranger's head turned toward him. The silver hedgehog jerked when he noticed black-colored sclera, but the yellow eyes were filled with despair, begging for help.

"Eclipse!" shouted voice behind them. The floating psychic almost jumped out of his quills, turning toward the portal.

"S-Shadow?" he stuttered, as the black hedgehog made his entrance.

The black and red creature stood up on its weak legs and tried to escape.

"You won't run away! Not this time!" The ebony G.U.N. agent had reached forward when Silver grabbed his shoulder.

"Shadow, what's happening? What are you doing here?"

The other hedgehog looked surprised at first, as he in his anger completely overlooked the time-traveling fellow. He quickly barked: "I'll explain later, but not before I destroy him!" The ebony arm yanked, freeing itself from the weak grasp, and the red-stripped hedgehog resumed his pursue.

These harsh words shocked the young hedgehog. He looked at the running figure. ' _What did he do to deserve it?'_ he thought.

The ebony hedgehog leaped into the air with buzzing energy rod ready to be released from his hand. The alien had turned one more time, terror in his eyes. His body was weakened, so he couldn't concentrate on blocking Shadow's chaos powers.

"Enough!" shouted Silver, catching both of them with his psychic ability, lifting them above the ground.

"What you are doing?" yelled Shadow, struggling to get free. The older hedgehog was surprised, as this time the psychic's grip was stronger. "Release me at once! I have to destroy him before he gets any stronger!"

"But why?" argued the time-traveling hedgehog, glimpsing at the strange fellow.

"Because he is part of Black Arms, the alien race that seeks nothing more than destruction!" The black hedgehog's voice was getting louder, as he was ventilating his frustration.

Silver looked at the alien which eyes now showed a mixture of sadness and hatred. The young hedgehog as well noticed, he was holding some small creatures that seemed to be hurt.

"Silver!" barked the ebony agent, interrupting his thoughts.

The psychic acted on instinct. "Sorry, Shadow, but how about you take a nice cooldown trip?" He waved his hand, sending the cursing hedgehog toward a big, faraway lake. After it, he closed the portal and took Eclipse with him.

The alien was silent, watching how he and his small creatures were taken away, flying through the sky without the support of wings. They traveled quite a distance, before arriving in a distant city. The psychic was overcome with a sadness. This place was deserted and left in ruins. Many buildings were torn down or had big holes. Not even moss either weed was growing on them, as there was an endless wasteland as far as the eye could see.

' _What could have happened here to leave everything devastated?'_ The flying hedgehog shook his head, concentrating more on the problem at hand, or more specifically, feet since he heeded to find some safe place to land. It took him a few minutes to spot a suitable building for a temporal hideout. He headed there, entering via a big hole, going down several floors before finally landing. He turned toward his silent passengers, putting them down.

When Eclipse touched the ground, he immediately moved four small creatures behind himself and prepared for an attack.

"I don't wish to fight you," said Silver in a friendly tone, putting his hands in front of himself. "I only want to know, why is Shadow after you, and hopefully," his ears dropped, "I can reason with him enough to not let myself turn into a pancake. So, what is the destruction, he was talking about?"

Black and red alien felt confused. His behavior was, if nothing else, strange. "Um…"

"Oh, yeah, my name is Silver, Silver the Hedgehog." He offered him a hand. "Can you tell me your names?"

The alien looked at the opened hand, not taking it, more from not understanding what that gesture meant than not accepting it. "I'm… I'm Eclipse the Darkling, and these are my Dark Arms."

"These kids?" The hedgehog retracted his hand, looking at them, noticing each was different. The one named Cregal reminded him of a bird, the block-shaped one with four small legs was called Blurg. The third one appeared to be eel-like, and his name was Cyzer, the last one had a shape of a simple music note with nice sounding name Rhygenta.

The psychic scratched behind an ear. "How can you call them weapons? They are living beings like you." He looked concerned, noticing they were all dusty. "But you look like you need a good shower first," he said with a smile and walked toward usable stairs. "Let's see if we can find anything useful here."

He was followed by them, and Eclipse was observing the silver psychic. His power was interesting, and the Darkling wasn't in tip-top condition though he was sure, he would take him down if the need arose. But for now, he let him be. It took some time, but they discovered a small, smelly pond in the basement and some old sheets.

There, the Black Arms' alien took his wisps and started to clean them. The psychic was watching, as the other was having a small smile, talking with them. They were replying in their specific language, he had no idea how to understand, but it sounded cute.

' _Hmm, he doesn't treat them like items, maybe I just misheard him or something. Perhaps the word 'arms' has a different meaning for him,'_ thought Silver.

* * *

Meanwhile, Shadow the Hedgehog reached the shore of the lake he was thrown in. He would never expect from the psychic to be able to hold him for so long. It surprised him, and he forgot to teleport away, landing in the middle of the lake. The water wasn't clean, it stank, but it wasn't full of trash or oils, so the swimming was without a hitch.

He got on the ground, frowning and gritting teeth. Just because he could swim, unlike a certain blue blur, didn't mean he was enjoying getting wet. He spun his body for a few seconds to get rid of the water.

"When I get my hands on that psycho hedgehog, he will be sorry he has ever visited my zone," he growled, as he was looking around. "Where am I anyway?" He only saw sand and one far away city. "Guess I'll check there." The ebony hedgehog activated his hover shoes, heading there.

In his mind, he was hoping Silver was alright, after all, you couldn't kill someone if that someone was already dead. ' _Just you wait!'_ he cursed in his mind once more.

* * *

The psychic hedgehog sneezed, feeling a shiver running down his spine. It must have been because of the draft there. He looked at his companion, who had finished telling him their story.

"So basically, Shadow destroyed your kin," said Silver with a certain uneasiness. He was having a hard time believing that.

Alien looked at him delightedly. It seemed this strange hedgehog bought his a little-twisted version of their conflict. At this moment he couldn't be too picky. He needed all the help he could get. His Dark Arms might have recovered from the worst, but they were still far from being useful in the battle. His thinking was interrupted by a loud noise coming from his stomach with a few others roaring from the little ones.

The psychic snickered, finding it cute. "Sounds like a gong to the lunch." He got up. "Come with me, I have found a strange plant with a quite tasty fruit if I can say so."

* * *

They followed him outside, turning a few corners, before reaching that place. Once there, Eclipse was shocked.

"I've never seen anything like this." The time-traveling hedgehog pointed at the blueish, red roots-like plant.

The main body seemed to be buried under the surface with no visible mean how to harvest it. The hedgehog continued: "But the most puzzling is the way how you get the fruit." He touched it with the right hand and used his psychic ability. "Somehow I can 'communicate' with it with my mind." His body slightly shone, and the bluish light traveled through the whole plant. Soon, he put his palm away, and from the surface emerged red, round pieces.

Before he could say 'Good appetite', two creatures started to fight over one piece while the box-like Blurg was gobbling entire pieces without chewing. He stepped aside, watching them. The only one behaving was the note-one, taking small bites.

"Cregal! Cyzer! How many times do I need to tell you not to fight over the food! And you Blurg! Start chewing already! Take an example from Rhygenta! She is well mannered!"Eclipse shouted at them, trying to calm them down, before picking one fruit too. It had been such a long time since they had a decent meal.

Silver observed their interactions. Now it was obvious, they weren't weapons or anything, they were family. He joined them before they could hog all the pieces he had harvested.

* * *

During their meal, Shadow had arrived in the city and looked around. He found out this place was strangely familiar that disturbed him even more. As he walked through ruined streets, he saw cars, lamps, pieces of stones, buildings, and different metal objects like road signs, all laying around, or utterly smashed. He picked one sign, squinting to read the squalid letters.

' _This is!'_ He let it fall to the ground, and a metallic noise echoed through the empty space. It sounded like a sad cry. "This place! Can it really be?" He clenched his fists and started to skate. If his suspicion was correct, then this place was…


	3. The Fall (2-2)

While the ebony hedgehog was thinking about his discovery, Eclipse was still in Silver's company. The alien was unable to determinate who this fella was. Once he harvested the red fruit plant, he was sure, no, he was hinted, he might be looking at Black Arm, Darkling just like him. But if that was true, why he had wrong skin color? Why was he furred and not scaly?

Was he created like him? Black Death hadn't told him about anybody else. He alone was the ultimate answer to their ultimate problem. The alien decided to take the first step in revealing this mystery. "Silver, where are we?" he asked, not really caring, but he wanted to start a conversation to find more about this peculiar lifeform.

"To be honest, I have no idea either." The psychic looked around, putting the last bite of his fruit in his mouth. "This place was devastated since the time I had arrived here through the Genesis portal."

Eclipse tilted his head, not knowing what that portal was. Silver proceeded in explaining it to them, about his mission to close them and the radar.

"So we are in a completely different world?" Now he started to care. He was used to traveling from one planet to another but changing a dimension was a bit too much even for him.

"That's right," he nodded, happy his explanation was easy to follow, "fortunately, I can tell which portal leads where if I was in that word behind it. In other words, I can tell you if it leads to your home and time or not."

Eclipse had wanted to ask something when a nearby wall exploded, and from the smoke emerged the furious black hedgehog. "Chaos Spear!" He threw at him green energy rod since his enemy failed to detect his presence.

The alien didn't have time to block the attack or to use his own power because of tiredness neither to avoid it. He stood in front of his pets, crossing arms in a hope it would make the pain a bit more bearable. But to his big surprise, the spear took to the sky.

"Silver?" shouted both at once. After all, it was his doing that the attack missed the target completely.

"Wait, Shadow," he quickly moved between them, "we can talk this out," the psychic hedgehog tried to calm him down.

"There is nothing to talk about!" barked the ebony chaos-wielder, clenching his fists, pushing the silver hedgehog away.

"Cregal!" snapped the Darkling, and the bird-wisp-like creature fused with him, turning his arms into wings. He immediately took the rest of his Dark Arms and flew away.

"Chaos Spe-!" However, the ebony hedgehog felt nothing, meaning Eclipse made sure to block his powers this time. The question was how long he could do it and at what distance, but it was obvious, using the power of the chaos in close-combat was out of the options. He growled, skating after the disappearing figure.

"Shadow, wait!" The psychic got up, flying after him. "Why did you erase his whole race? What did they do to you?" According to the story, he was told, Black Arms was quite a peaceful race, visiting one planet after another, exchanging knowledge, finding a place to rest and gathering some resources. It just happened some other races were quite aggressive, so they had no chance but to protect themselves.

"What they did?" snarled the ebony hedgehog back as he stopped, burying the index finger into the fluffy chest fur Silver had, making him tuck his head between shoulders. "They brainwashed me into attacking my team, they live only for destroying whole planets, and they tried to destroy Mobius too! You get it now?" Shadow didn't wait for an answer and resumed his pursuit.

The young psychic was left speechless. There was no way his friend was lying him. Was he tricked?

"So, what did I do then?" He smoothed out his chest fur and looked at his palms. "Did I help a villain?"

* * *

While the young psychic was pondering about his actions, the alien was forced to land, as Cregal ran out of energy. He gasped, feeling tired too. Though the fruit helped him to regain some of his strength, it was barely enough to provide necessary nutrition his body demanded on daily basis.

' _Darn it! That traitor will be here any second. I need a plan!'_ He looked around. It seemed he landed at some intersection with most of the buildings collapsed into it. That gave him an idea worthy of the shot.

The black hedgehog slowed down, noticing his enemy was near. Since they shared a loose mind connection because of their shared blood, they were able to feel each other's presence. Though Shadow was at a disadvantage as he was half-Black Arms and half-hedgehog, it was still enough to give him an upper hand in time of need.

He pricked ears in an attempt to catch every sound. It paid off as he picked up some noise on his left side. Without a hesitation, he had spin-attacked that place, bursting through the wall. He bounced up, landing a few meters away, realizing he had been had. "What the-?" That clamor wasn't made by Eclipse but by his flying wisp.

The agent noticed another movement behind himself, but before he could react, his back was hit by a sonic wave. "Too bad, brother!" shouted his younger half-sibling, landing a clear hit thanks to Rhygenta's power-up, equipping his right hand with sound waves generating cannon.

The hedgehog's body was pushed forward by a strong sound wave, crashing into the debris on the other side. The impact left him groggy, making him see sparkles and blurring the vision. The Black Arms' alien shrieked: "Now you are gonna pay for your betrayal!" He released his sound cannon wisp. "You all go hide!" he ordered to his bio-arms and jumped into the air, intending to rip his half-brother to shreds.

The hedgehog was hardly down for the count. He picked a big rock, throwing it, hitting the Darkling right between the eyes. That made him flinch, forcing him to alter the original trajectory quite a lot and missing the target completely. Shadow didn't wait, leaping at the other and clashing with him in a wrestling match.

They were trying to push each other on the ground, but their physical strength was balanced. The status quo lasted for several seconds until the ebony agent stepped back, making the other fall forward, and at the same moment, the hedgehog slammed Eclipse's forehead with his own. The other let go, tumbling on the back, covering his head and seeing stars.

He barely recovered his sight when Shadow sat down on him, pinning him to the ground, choking him. The alien was struggling, trying to get the other off him, but his strength was quickly leaving. The wisps witnessed it, and the blocky Blurk was hurrying to help his family member.

' _Am I going to die here?'_ thought the alien with his vision blurry.

Shadow lifted his right hand to punch him.

' _Who will take care of the little ones?'_ Tears appeared in corners of his eyes.

The lifted fist was tightly clenched.

' _Who will take revenge for my family?'_ He felt his consciousness was fading as the lungs were having a shortage of an oxygen. His hands were losing a grip on the arm that was grasping his neck. Neither of them was seeing Dark Arms rushing towards them or that their bodies were engulfed by a bluish aura.

"Watch out!" shouted the silver psychic, lifting them off the ground. Silver's action broke the fighting duo.

"What are you-?" Shadow didn't finish his sentence when the spot where they had been exploded. He glimpsed more similar shots heading their way.

"Incoming!" The psychic flew in front of them, creating a shield, successfully blocking laser shots. "Who are these guys?" he asked once the laser shower stopped. He slightly shook his hands as they were tingling.

The ebony hedgehog looked at the big black and red mass that was rushing towards them. Eclipse saw them too, but he was having a hard time to stop coughing as his lungs were hungrily swallowing the air. The G.U.N. agent hissed, biting his lower lip. "These are… Black Arms…" he whispered, not wanting to believe his own eyes.

The flying hedgehog looked around, noticing there was a lot of them in the air too as they were circled by strange dragon-like hawks and raptors with the same colored skin. "Can we talk…?" Silver's attempt to communicate with them was met with a silence.

Shadow's red eyes were running from one spot to another, recognizing way too many familiar figures until they locked on one particular flying creature shaped like a star-fish. The big eye in its center was staring at him, and its voice was heard despite it had no mouth: "You? It can't be! You are dead! I have killed you, Shadow!"

The black and red hedgehog's fur bristled as he loudly growled: "Black Doom."


	4. The Discoveries (1-3)

Silver was looking around frightened. There were dozens of these strange creatures, and it seemed more of them were coming every second. The ground was literally covered with human-sized monsters with big yellow eyes, caring different types of weapons from laser guns of various shapes to thunder-like purple swords. Among them was a fewer number of giants with spikes on their backs.

The sky was crowded with clamoring bat-like aliens, bigger winged lizard-like raptors. Silver had seen a lot of strange things in all his travels from self-aware robots to aggressive plants and fastest thing alive. But nothing he had ever seen before could have prepared him for this.

"Silver. Silver… Silver!" shouted Shadow at him.

"W-What?" The called hedgehog jerked, gulping loudly.

"Stop daydreaming and concentrate!" barked the other, clenching his fists, trying to call the power of the chaos. But nothing appeared, making it clear Eclipse was blocking them. "OK, time for plan B, Silver," whispered the older hedgehog the plan, so the alien wouldn't be able to hear it, "at my signal, you will drop me at enemies while you take Eclipse and his small army as far and fast as you can."

"I can't let you fight on your own!" the psychic hedgehog gasped. This plan was a suicide!

"Stop whining," he growled a bit, "this is our only chance. I'm the ultimate lifeform. I have tackled with these guys before, and I'm a lot faster than any of them." He glanced at his half-brother, but it seemed he was in a daze from seeing his race to be alive here.

"OK, if you say so." Silver wasn't fully convinced, but he knew Shadow had never said anything he didn't mean.

The ebony hedgehog frowned at Doom's Eye shaped like a starfish. It was hovering in front of them, waiting, thinking, analyzing, or whatever else was Black Doom doing at the other end.

"Now!" ordered the grim hedgehog, and the other one threw him among Black Arms. Before the silver hedgehog left this place, he looked over his shoulder, seeing his friend to take down four creatures.

"No! That's my family!" Eclipse was shouting, writhing in the psionic grasp as he was dragged from his haze. "Put me down!" If only he could muster enough Chaos power, he would teleport away.

The air aliens flew after them to stop them according to Black Doom's order. The escaping psychic shivered as one passed them, grazing his front quills and doing a sharp back-flip, aiming at the hedgehog. He was surprised it went for such suicidal attack, but he wasn't a wimp or weakling either. He grabbed a chunk of a wall, slamming it against the lizard raptor, flattening it and sending to the ground.

"Stop it!" yelled the alien, making his flying harder since he was constantly fighting against his power, so he had to concentrate more. A laser shot flew just an inch from his ear, making it twitch. The hedgehog covered it with his hand, looking back, seeing raptors weren't just faster but capable of firing laser beams as well.

"Oh crud!" he gasped as more of them were sent his way. He swiftly dived, disappearing into one building, going down while throwing junk, trash, and rocks at them and trying not to smash himself or others against any obstacle. He left the building in hurry with a dozen of those flying aliens on his tail. His head jerked as he glanced the entree of the old subway.

He quickly headed there, seeing the entrance was mostly blocked off, and some thuds whispered to him, not all chasers made it inside. The psychic quickly examined the first floor, noticing a sign informing there was another line underground, so he found the escalator and followed it tens of meters down. In his brain, he felt a rising pressure. That meant he was getting tired or a headache from Eclipse's yelling and neither was his preferred choice.

Once he reached the lowest level, he flew along the rails, barely avoiding the rusty train that was partly tilted and based on the echo some raptors weren't so lucky. The silver ears twitched, making the psychic turn back just in time to witness the alien-birds were about to fire laser beams.

"Oh, no!" he exclaimed, glimpsing a big crack in the ceiling. Without a hesitation he grabbed a loose concrete block and pulled, taking down more than he would like. They quickly retreated with clouds of dust trying to swallow them, and the cave in working on burying them alive. Thankfully, subway stations were close to each other, so they escaped the worst switching the line.

Eclipse was all the time screaming, well, not now, he inhaled some of the dust, making him cough like crazy that sure was a better choice. An angry screeching from behind ensured him not all flying monsters remained trapped. _'Great, I hope, Shadow is having a better time,'_ he thought as he sped up.

* * *

Little did he know, he was having the easier time since his ebony friend was in the middle of a huge fight with an unending mass of Black Arms' soldiers. He kept punching and kicking them, feeling his physical strength was getting depleted without the end in sight. Black Doom's starfish-eye was hovering above the battlefield, mumbling silently:

"Shadow, how did you survive?" It got closer, observing and zooming at the hedgehog who took a big purple sword with a thunder-like blade, cutting and killing about six aliens before it shattered. The green ooze, flowing in their veins, was spurting out, making it seem the ground was covered with a grass and not by dead bodies.

"You and your little team… have failed." Black Doom's Eye didn't stop moving above the battle, not letting Shadow disappear from his sigh for a second. The hedgehog-alien hybrid curled up, executing a spin attack his kind was well known for, scoring big hits and overcoming quite a distance at the same time. Once he landed on a bit clear area, it was at once crowded with the Black soldiers trying to gut him or push him to the ground, and neither was a valid option for the grim hero.

"And again you fight. Do you hope this will end differently?"

The ebony hedgehog was ignoring his voice; however, he had to give it to him, the situation was looking bad for him since most of the time it was a hit-and-run tactic from his side. A laser shot grazed his leg, he winced but continued to avoid more beams that were gradually cornering him. He overcame a half-way torn wall, retreating inside of an old building.

"Hiding? Don't you know it's futile?" There was no way he could escape hundreds of his minions, with thousands still stationed on the Black Comet which was floating above the planet.

The G.U.N. agent looked around, allowing the lungs to take a few deep breaths, before working on his newest mean of defense and offense. As the black and red creatures were entering, he crashed many columns, bringing the whole structure down, burying countless aliens under the debris.

"Hmm, how clever. You used to fight more… directly," commented it Black Doom from the other side of the flying starfish, seeing the hedgehog escaped the brick grave easily. He sent the rest of the surviving soldiers after him. Their leader was a cold-blooded monster, feeling no sadness for the fallen ones as he could replace them easily or grow new ones from the larvae.

The rest of the flying troop was ordered to join the fray. They started the air raid, shooting plasma balls, making it really hot for the escaping hedgehog. _'Dang it!'_ he cursed as he avoided one such attack but still feeling the heat entered his lungs. One hit and he would be toast. If only he could get a proper momentum; however, the area around him was crumbling under his every step, and he didn't want to risk to lose the footing and getting shot by a laser.

One flying raptor dived down, trying to ram him. Shadow back-flipped, catching its long antennas, mounting it and forcing it to soar to the sky. Once he was height enough, he kicked it, breaking its spine. The agent turned around, spinning his body and slamming the ground beneath, creating a small shock-wave that tossed a good dozen of soldiers away and made others topple over.

"I'm impressed. You got better. But… it's just the matter of time before you fall in front of me… again." After the last word, a sinister laughing could be heard.

The black hedgehog hated it, but Black Doom was right. He had no chance to win this fight, not without his chaos powers. He got up, zigzagging through them, trying to feel the chaos within him that he had inherited through Black Doom's blood, but there was still no response. _'Move it, Silver!'_ he shouted at the time-traveling hedgehog, heading into a park. Only stumps and dead trees suggested there was once a place meant for a relaxation.

* * *

Meanwhile, the silver psychic was having his hands full with the remaining flying aliens. _'How many of them are after us?'_ asked Silver himself since it seemed they kept multiplying despite his attempts to stop them. He flew inside a maze-like building, zigzagging through it and even tearing it down at some places, but it seemed the creatures learned to read his moves.

"Stop moving already!" he barked at Eclipse since his constant squirming was getting more on his nerve with each passing second. _'Think! Think!'_ he was frantically scanning the path in front of himself. _'For the love of…!'_ He turned a corner.

The raptors followed a few seconds later; however, they had to stop. Their targets were gone. At first, they explored the near holes before flying to search wider area in small groups.

After a short while, a manhole cover was lifted with a bluish aura, and the silver hedgehog peeked out, seeing the coast was clear, he dashed out holding his nose. The air in the sewers was stifling, and he felt like puking. _'I need to koff find a way how to get them cough to one space.'_

"Let me go already!" shouted Eclipse, muffled by his own hands. His wisps weren't any better.

"I can't! First, you lied to me," he sharply turned towards him with lifted index finder, "second, I need to sort my thoughts and third, those guys… monsters… are trying to kill us!"

"How can you kill your own family?" he barked, clenching the fists.

"My what?" Silver's eyes widen. What nonsense was it?

"I was surprised too, realizing that you are my 'brother'," he rolled his eyes a bit in a thinking manner as he was looking for better word before continuing, "maybe more like a distant 'relative', but that doesn't matter." There were tears in his eyes.

"Where did you cook up something like that?" The psychic shivered, having to hug his own body and rubbing his arms.

"You showed it to me! That plant can be harvested only by my kin." The alien tried to make his voice sound soft.

"But that…" The young psychic felt his head to start spinning.

"You said this is a different world, right?" Eclipse reached out toward him like he wanted to hug him. "Our race is so strong here while in our world I and my Dark Arms are the only ones left. We are almost extinct. I would be so happy to have 'brother' like you."

Silver stepped back and slightly shook his head. This couldn't be true, right?

"With your awesome powers, we can eradicate all the inferior races. We would be unbeatable." There was a plea in Eclipse's yellow eyes, and at this moment, he was looking almost cute and adorable even with these yellow, sharp teeth. "Please, don't betray me like my other 'brother' Shadow. He already executed our race twice. Let's stop him from doing it for the third time." Eclipse was practically begging him with his eyes.

The time-traveling hedgehog was disgusted, and yet he felt a little sympathy, maybe. He was just so sincere, and he couldn't imagine the little ones doing something so cruel like devouring others. Perhaps, there was more to it if only he could have a moment to think everything over.

The alien very well noticed the anxiety in the other's eyes, and he gradually pulled back his hands. "Oh, I understand, it's all too sudden for you. But please, think about it." He decided to try a different approach, not to push too hard.

The hedgehog wanted to give him an answer, but his ears picked once more the familiar buzzing sound, and the roar of blasted walls followed soon enough. He barely caught the biggest piece, flinging it back, but raptors easily avoided it. Silver grabbed the group, pulling them behind, retreating once more.

"No! Black Doom, please, stop! We are your kin! We are family! I know you can hear me!" Eclipse shouted, trying to shake off the psionic grip over his body.

' _I can't go on like this for much longer!'_ thought the psychic as his vision got blurry for a moment. His body was reaching its limits. In front of himself a bit to the left, he sighted a tall building, and as another beam missed him by millimeter, he headed there, stepping on it. This might be his only chance…


	5. The Discoveries (2-3)

Silver got inside the building through a hole near the ground, noticing this one seemed to be in good shape compared to others. But it was obvious precisely applied pressure would take it down. The flying aliens entered, circling them, and the psychic counted five of them, but they weren't making him sleepy. Their movements briefly halted before they raided them. The psychic, with a simple hand gesture, lifted the floor below them, creating a shield. The fling aliens slammed into it, and the hedgehog soared, with them just a few meters behind.

Then he suddenly stopped, and the raptors got above them before turning back. The psychic with his power ripped the supporting pillars in half, making the upper part descending, burying everything beneath. The rumble was deafening, and the concrete blocks threatened to crush them all. However, Silver, though desperate, didn't decide to commit a suicide.

Their bodies were engulfed by strong blueish aura, and he flew up like a rocket with crossed hands in front of his face, using his body as a shield to protect the ones behind him. After long seconds, he broke through the collapsing building, making it out and getting rid of the pursuers. But the victory still wasn't in their grasp as this provided only a temporary peace of mind.

The young hedgehog gasped for air, feeling his lungs burning and screaming as he pushed their limits. He quickly descended, slowing down but looking for a hideout. There was a chance more of those creatures could be lurking nearby. He had no idea where he was, but he hoped he had gotten far enough from Shadow to let him use the power of chaos.

* * *

He would surely need it by any second now. The other hedgehog was losing breath and personal space, as the aliens kept getting closer, cornering him in the dead-end alley. How convenient phrase and so well placed.

"What's wrong, Shadow? Where is your Chaos Control ability you were so proud of?" mocked him Black Doom so sure of his impending victory.

The other growled, clenching fists when a sudden sensation hit him, a very familiar one. A confident smirk appeared on his face. "In a manner of speaking," He lifted his clenched hand, shouting: "Chaos Control!" His body disappeared in a green flash.

"What! Where?" Black Doom was confused. Why didn't he use it sooner? Did he need to meet some conditions? During the fight, he had noticed the hedgehog looked slightly different. Was it somebody else? Was he an old android created to combat his army? This needed to be properly investigated.

The starfish turned around in the air, sensing the movements of another group had stopped some time ago. "The air troop was completely defeated," he muttered to himself. That light hedgehog had some unusual powers. But what about that third creature? It seemed familiar yet distant, and it yelled they were from Black Arms? This matter needed to be investigated more than he expected.

If the third one was part of his kin, what would it mean? He didn't seem to be directly bound to his hive-mind, and the free-will behavior was strange. What a rare spectacle he had witnessed.

"My Black soldiers, scout the city, find them and bring all three to me alive," he ordered to his mindless minions, and they scattered through the city.

* * *

Meanwhile, Shadow overcame quite a distance thanks to that teleportation, but there was no time to rest. First, he had to find Silver. That was quite easy as he had to simply sense his halfbrother since they were sharing a loose mind connection, but only if those two were still together. He bit his lip. Was leaving the alien in Silver's hands a good idea? Was there any other choice at all?

Everything happened so fast. Just an hour ago he was chasing Eclipse in his own world, and he would have him if it wasn't for that stupid Genesis portal. He had no choice but to follow him, and he was sure Rouge, his partner, would chew him for it later. He tried to use his chaos powers, seeing there was no response meant he was in Eclipse's active range. He made a mental note to try to calculate the active radius if there would be a chance for it.

He turned around a corner, and a big rock landed between his eyes. "Aught!" he barked, stepping backward, glaring with his right, open eye at sitting Silver.

"Ah, sorry!" the other gasped, getting up on shaky legs. "I thought you were one of those birds!"

The ebony hedgehog stopped paying him attention, shifting it to his halfsibling who was sitting behind the psychic on a debris with wisps around him. The Darkling jumped down, snarling and ready to fight. The G.U.N. agent assumed fighting stance as well.

The silver hedgehog was standing between them, feeling the tension was skyrocketing. Both fighters made a stride forward when he shouted: "ENOUGH!" For someone tired, his voice was strong and clear, making both flinch. "If you don't stop, I'm dropping a building on you!" With clenched fists, his head sharply turned to each other. "This isn't time either space for bickering! We have bigger problems!"

Shadow relaxed his pose a bit, admitting the younger hedgehog was right. His frowning glare locked on Eclipse. Wisps gathered behind the alien ready to assist him in the battle. Silver continued: "Let's calm down!"

The ebony hedgehog snorted, crossing his arms, uttering coldly: "Fine."

While was the psychic happy, the alien loudly growled, and it seemed he might still attack. The time-traveling hedgehog quickly leaped in front of him, whispering something. The stripped alien-hybrid pricked his ears but heard nothing, yet those words calmed his enemy and made him cooperate which was indicated by a nod.

Shadow silently growled. _'What did Silver tell him?'_

"Alright, let's go," said the psionic hedgehog with a small smile, yet his face turned grim in the next second, "but where?" He scratched his quills.

The eldest of them sighed. "Just follow me." He beckoned them, turning away and walking into a halfway torn building. They followed him in complete silence, each of them prisoners of their thoughts.

From time to time they had to stop for Shadow to search the terrain, trying to find the right direction. During that time, he kept thinking. He knew he had to destroy Eclipse, but he could tell Silver wouldn't be just watching, either he would help him in doing so. His stupid naivety would get in the way.

He was sure keeping Eclipse alive was a bad decision, but for a strange reason, he was docile, not even trying to get into his head. It was against his better judgment, but he wasn't in fighting condition. The battle against Black Arms left him drained, and his brother was blocking his Chaos abilities.

"There!" he gasped, as he had finally found the right path. He was almost sure he got lost, but now he could return. A cold sensation ran down his spine, and he quickly hid behind a fallen block. Above his head flew a small group of black hawks. _'I have to hurry,'_ ran through his mind, and he resumed his return, hoping they weren't discovered.

Fortunately, he had found them, and together they restarted their journey that, thankfully, ended soon as they reached the destination. The stripped hedgehog carefully observed the nearest area, finding no alien. He gestured the rest of the group to follow him to a partly blocked steel door. Once there, he again scanned the area before focusing on a small panel next to the door.

It was consisting only a touchscreen, and a small LED light was flashing next to it, showing there was running electricity. He smirked a bit, glancing the G at the door. He took his right glove off, putting the palm on the sensitive surface.

The psychic was curiously watching as he had never seen him to take his gloves off. It revealed the red strip from his elbow was ending at his middle fingernail, coloring it red too. The last detail the young hedgehog noticed were sharply shaped nails, or maybe more like nail-claws or claws-nails. Now, he was sure he was tired, thinking stupid stuff. He really needed a rest.

The silent beep sounded, the touch sensor turned from red to green, and the door slowly opened but only partly unable to proceed any further, nonetheless, it was enough for them to squeeze through. Once they were inside, the agent closed the door from the other side. Silver shivered. They had entered a dim corridor with flashing lights if they weren't already broken. It looked creepy like a ghost was about to pop out.

The hedgehog gulped, unwillingly following the others. The air was stale, but it was better than in the sewer. Alongside the walls were boxes, many of them were crushed or broken but all had a letter G on them. With quick glances, the psychic hedgehog noticed lying weapons, and if his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, he glimpsed huge mecha-armor in the room they had passed; however, it was too dark for him to be sure.

Eclipse was as well looking everywhere, having Dark Arms tightly around his body. Each of them was scared and unsure as this place was grim. He frowned upon seeing some room with big screens, but they walked past it, continuing further until Shadow turned into a slightly better lit room.

The interior was messy, and it seemed it was used as a small stock room, as there were metal racks full of boxes, and next to it were blankets, pillows, and other things. Nothing of it mattered to Silver as he was glad he could finally sit down, spreading legs, letting them hang down as he took a seat on a big box. Even the fact his fur was dirtied by the thick layer of dust meant nothing for him. The last hours were so nerve wrecking.

Eclipse sat down with crossed legs, picking a place under a rack. He needed the rest as well. The only one not relaxing was Shadow who went and explored the room. He had found a big hole about ten meters from the entrance, seeing a broken mecha-suit lying on the floor. Its central plate was torn down, and there seemed to be dark stains splattered on it.

He knitted eyebrows, returning to the duo. He came in the moment Silver was yawning, and it looked like he might dislocate his jaws. The ebony hedgehog whispered to him before the other could close the mouth: "Silver, a word. Now!" A nod gestured him to move further from the Darkling.

The pair of fluffy ears flopped as the yawn was cut short. He was starting to feel good. He quickly got down, realizing his legs were wobbly, as he allowed the tiredness spread through the whole body.

When the other stopped, with ears pointing in alien's direction, Silver wanted to talk but was interrupted: "I'm going to scout the area," announced the G.U.N. agent, "and I want you to keep an eye on Eclipse and his little army. No matter what he says, it's a lie. Don't let him confuse you he tried that on me too with a little bit of brainwashing as a bonus." He snorted at the last word.

"O-Okay." Silver nodded unable to add anything else.

"And one more thing." He came closer, whispering in the other's ear. Once he was done, he walked past him, letting him stand there with eyes wide open. Before the ebony hedgehog could leave the room, the younger hedgehog turned around, calling him: "Shadow!"

Since it sounded a bit desperate, he looked over his shoulder. There was uncertainty all over the psychic's face. "Ah," he started, seeing the other lifted an eyebrow, "just be careful," said the psychic after a second, having a sheepish smile.

The ebony agent smirked. "Come on, I'm an ultimate lifeform. I know how to handle a few aliens." With those words, he left, going deeper into the abandoned bunker.

Silver returned to the box, where he was sitting before, sliding down, leaning against it too tired to lift his body. He felt awful. _'Should have I told Shadow about me being…'_ He abruptly shook his head. _'That can't be possible! I'm a hedgehog.'_ He looked at his palms. _'Not an alien, right?'_

How could he know it for sure? He had no memories of his parents, he could be biologically engineered, for all he knew! _'So, maybe… I can be a man-eating alien?'_ Another shiver run through his body, he had to hug it, rubbing his arms. He was scared.

Although, he wasn't the only one immersed in thoughts.


	6. The Discoveries (3-3)

The leader of Black Arms, Black Doom, was thinking deeply as well. So much had happened leaving him pondering and with many questions. He was inside of the Black Comet, sitting on his throne which had many cables attached to it that were connecting it to the ship. The air around the big and intimidating figure was eerie.

His body was hidden by the darkness that was occupying a vast room. His three eyes were open, shining through the darkness like red lamps. The third one on his forehead was the brightest one like a will-o-wisp, luring unsuspecting prey into his claws.

The trio fascinated him. Shadow was miraculously alive, or it might be his clone or an android. He had a chance to meet those inferior copies during the first invasion and smash them in one swift attack.

The other hedgehog was having an interesting power. Given how he looked and behaved, he wasn't doubting a small group of his flying forces wouldn't be enough to capture him. In his life, he had met many creatures and races with various powers, but none had something like this one. It seemed to be versatile, and he slowly played with a thought to incorporate his D.N.A. into the newest generation of black soldiers or maybe creating a new type of living weapons.

But if he would be frank with himself, the third one caught his attention the most. It looked a lot like Black Arms yet it was different. He as well noticed four small creatures around him, and he was getting a similar vibe from them too. If he was somehow of his kind, he should be able to reach him through the hive-mind, after all, all of his race was directly connected to him. Thanks to it there was never a problem or conflict among the soldiers, there was never a thought of a betrayal as all of them were controlled by Black Doom.

His race was perfect, and the only one worthy to be left alive. Other races were only using the space, having useless fights and quarrels, waging wars to each other and never learning a thing. It was his mission to clean the universe of them and spread the tranquility.

' _It's good I have decided to fly around this already conquered planet. When our sensors detected a life down there, I couldn't believe it. I didn't expect much from the scan, but when the life was confirmed here, I had to inspect it. What an interesting treasure I have found._ ' He closed his eyes, concentrating on searching the third creature. It might take a while as he wasn't directly bound to him.

* * *

As the ominous leader of Black Arms was deep in thoughts, Shadow was in the middle of an investigation. He had explored a big deal of the military facility, confirming his suspiciousness. This planet, this place, and this city; it was Mobius which future and its inhabitants had been devoured by Black Arms.

This was planet Mobius, his homeland, of this universe which future had been devoured by Black Arms.

He stopped, looking into one room. It was dark and empty, reflecting the state of his mind.

' _How many others planet he destroyed in this zone?'_ The ebony hedgehog shook his head. _'It doesn't matter. I'll end his life… again.'_ Even if he was decided to do so, he wasn't sure if he could make it. This time there wasn't his all the time favorite mecha robot, neither his female teammate with a knack for computers… better than his. Black Doom was also possibly a lot stronger here, and he had more of his mindless slaves.

He sighed, resumed his walk and turned the corner to enter the computer room they had passed some time ago. A small smile flickered on his face as nostalgic moment hit him, but he was still glad there wasn't a way too talkative crocodile behind him. He looked around sure this was the central command room of this facility.

The front wall was full of broken screens with big computer panels in front of it. He could only imagine how it looked here during the day, whether it normal one or through a crisis. He walked down the stairs, noticing knocked down chairs, broken machines and marks left by claws and laser shots on everything around.

' _This may be just a branch, but…'_ He scanned the nearest machine which seemed to be mostly undamaged. _'… if they had as a good backup generator as in my zone, then there still may be running electricity in the whole facility since the entrance door opened.'_ Of course, that didn't mean the data could be accessed, but it was worth of the shot. He picked one chair, sitting on it and pressed every button possible to do anything, but it refused to respond.

He didn't let it frustrate him; however, after good twenty minutes, he was fed up, banging his fist against it. "Dang," he cursed when the panel turned on. "What? That hit hacked me into the computer?" He facepalmed himself. "For the love of…"

"… brzt … Log number… krsh… The Black Arms…"

Once Shadow heard commander Tower's voice, he stopped worrying about his computer abilities, completely ignoring his surroundings. He observed the little holographic figure of the commander on above the panel.

* * *

He wasn't the only one paying an extra attention to the person in front of them. Eclipse was still sitting under the rack with Dark Arms around him. He kept petting them, and they didn't dare to utter a single note. The alien was too young to appreciate waiting, but he had to endure it, especially if it seemed he got through his possible sibling. From the fidgeting, he could guess, the silver hedgehog was finding truth in his words.

He played with an idea to talk with him once more when he felt some pressure in the back of his head. At first, he tried to push it away, but that was soon proved fruitless as the outside power was out of his league. A second later he heard an unfamiliar voice: _How strange… Who are you?_

 _That's my question!_ barked the young alien, baring teeth. Who dared to invade his inner personal space?

 _I'm Black Doom of Black Arms and you… Why are you so similar to me?_

The small figure gasped. Black Doom? he whispered in his mind. Was this real? Was he really his master's master? Alive and talking with him? _I-I'm Eclipse the Darkling. I was created by my master Black Death as the ultimate answer to the ultimate problem._

 _Fascinating,_ said the other voice. _Who are those hedgehogs? How come you are here?_

Eclipse didn't hesitate and told him about everything, starting from his demise, and how Black Death became the new hive-mind, creating Eclipse for the sake of the second invasion to his escape through Genesis portal and what they were. The hive-mind listened, absorbing the fascinating amount of information.

 _Interesting,_ he said after a while, _to think there are such endless possibilities within my reach._

The small alien continued: _And this silver hedgehog is probably sharing our bloodline! He can harvest our plants._

 _True, his power is indeed captivating._ Black Doom extended his mind control, going deeper into his brain.

Eclipse silently moaned. _What you are doing?_ The sensation was painful since it was causing him a headache.

 _Don't resist!_ he ordered. _I'll locate you and send there my minions!_

The young Darkling tried not to defy, but he couldn't help it; it felt so weird. He stopped petting his companions, curling up and hugging his knees he pressed against his forehead. Dark Arms had no idea what was happening to him, so they could only watch him be in a pain.

* * *

Though Silver was sitting just a few meters away, he had no idea what was occurring. His mind was too busy trying to convince him he was an alien, so it could find a reason why it couldn't be possible in the next seconds.

That forced him to play with fingers, fidgeting with them like crazy while his head was resting on bent knees. _'I can't be like Eclipse,'_ he weakly said in his mind, _'I never had a tendency for eating or carving for raw meat, hadn't I?'_

He remembered the red fruit. _'I had no choice here… I couldn't be picky with food…'_ A shiver ran down his spine. _'I have eaten a lot of stuff… and not everything was tasty.'_ A cold sweat appeared on his forehead, as he realized he was so far able to digest anything… without much of problems. He tightened his ball position, hiding his face and biting his lip.

He shouldn't have whispered to Eclipse he would seriously think about his offer to become his 'brother'. He did it to calm him down, to make him cooperate, now the thought of possibly belonging to man-eating alien's race was bugging him to no end. _'No, no! Shadow said he was lying!'_ Tears started to pour down his cheeks, calling his grumpy friend.

* * *

The ebony hedgehog finished watching the holographic log left behind by the commander Tower. Parts were damaged, but he was still able to get the picture of the war against Black Arms. They had come just like promised, but after it, everything went differently from his zone. Rouge and Omega created two cell team with a mission to plant a nuke bomb inside of the comet.

A troop of humans was accompanying them, and most of them were wiped out. Omega sacrificed himself for Rouge and the survivors, allowing them to escape as he self-destructed, damaging the control room. Rouge then reported the successful detonation; however, that comet was just a decoy, and the real one was hiding behind the moon. The huge alien army invaded numerous cities across the globe, destroying the most important facilities first before moving to civilian areas.

The military and other fractions used all their resources to fight against the invasion, even infamous Dr. Eggman deployed his Badniks and other robots. The fight was lasting for long months, and many heroes died on the battlefield including Rouge. His zone version was captured during the first big wave, but he was able to escape and collect all Chaos Emeralds gaining super form. Unfortunately, Black Doom proved to be more powerful, killing him after a long fight.

Shadow the Hedgehog of different zone saluted at the end of the video-log, feeling boiling anger inside of him. Although he didn't learn anything new, he was now more determinate to end Black Doom's cruel reign. The most difficult question was how to get to him? He was sure, he was hiding on the Black Comet above the planet's stratosphere.

His body slightly turned around when he felt sudden chill ran down his spine. He immediately assumed a fighting stance, but he was still too slow as a huge figure with a green flash appeared behind him. He bared teeth as a blow was dealt behind his left ear, knocking him to the ground. His eyes merely glimpsed a huge figure with a red head. _'Dam…'_ his mind managed to utter before everything turned black.


	7. The Imprisonment (1-3)

Silver's eyelids twitched and he subconsciously twitched with fingers. His brain was sluggish, unable to command his limbs so he concentrated on his breathing, feeling a yawn escaping out. He slowly lifted his hand, rubbing his eyes getting the drowsiness out. The pointy ears pricked, not hearing anything particular or familiar.

His brain accepted the fact he was sitting so he leaned forward hitting with forehead some smooth surface. "Ouch," he muttered realizing one annoying fact. "My head... it feels like my headache has a headache," he mumbled, finally squinting. Once more he rubbed his eyes, opening them and squinting in front of himself. "A glass?"

"Done with your beauty sleep?" asked annoyed Shadow.

"My what…?" The young psychic looked his way. The other hedgehog was standing leaning inside of a glass tube with a pedestal. The younger hedgehog winked, turning his head around at least comprehending the situation, not ever noticing his own coffee face.

He slowly stood up as he felt there were pins and needles in his legs, making the simple process quite unstable and painful. The room around them looked like some sort of laboratory built inside of a gigantic stomach. There were cables of different thickens running from their pedestals along the ground ending in the meaty walls. He noticed some pipes as well, but his interest was laying on the strange gel-cocoons that were positioned across the walls. He just hoped nothing will hath from them.

"How did we get here? Where are we?" the psychic asked. Weren't they in a bunker just a few minutes ago? And how long they are here?

Shadow snorted being clearly annoyed, but he still replied: "Welcome aboard Black Comet, genius." his voice was sarcastic. However, the biggest part of his annoyance was directed at himself. How could he not a thing of the possibility Black Doom contacting Eclipse? 'I should have killed him,' he cursed in his mind. Now was too late for it. He tucked his head between shoulders trying to think of a way out.

"So what now?" He touched the cold surface of the tube. "Can you break this glass?" He was feeling down, knowing this was mostly his mistake. If he paid more attention, they might not end up in Black Arms' clutches.

"No, Eclipse is blocking my Chaos Control and my raw strength can't put a dent in it. What about your psychic abilities?" There was still hope in that.

"I feel pretty wonky, but give me a couple of minutes and I'm ready to go." He tried to sound confident but a headache wasn't going away, so pressed his temples to speed his recovery.

Suddenly, the opposite wall spread out creating an oval opening. "I don't think we can afford such luxury," Shadow frowned, growling toward the coming figures. "What we did to be honored by your ugliness?" said the black hedgehog with sarcasm as Black Doom and Eclipse came closer.

"I see you are still disobeying just like your version in this universe," replied the leader of the man-eating aliens.

The young time-traveling hedgehog shivered, pressing his back against the glass. If he thought the others were scary, this one was absolutely creepy. He had big horns, tree crimson eyes which were glowing, strong and clawed hands, torn-like clothes with heavy looking necklaces and hanging accessory and no legs. He was just floating above the ground.

The Darkling came closer to Silver's tube placing his clawed hand on the surface and gently saying: "I'm sorry for this, 'brother' but we will let you go soon." Dark Arms were with him and given their happy smiles, they must have been informed about this little discovery.

"Brother? What do you mean?" barked Shadow, turning towards them.

His half-sibling frowned, growling back: "I mean, I found out I have another 'brother'. 'Brother' that is much better than you!" he hissed at the end pointing at him.

The silver-furred hedgehog was trying to make himself invisible by tugging his head between shoulders, silently mumbling: "It's not nice to point at others."

"Silver can't be!" barked the hybrid hedgehog.

"He is!" The younger alien stomped his leg, huffing. "He can harvest our plants and he eats their fruit too!" He took a deep breath.

Shadow was for few moments silent before shouting: "You have eaten what?" The anger on his face was apparent.

The psychic lifted his head, feeling indignant. "Excuse me," he started with a sarcastic tone, "but normal lifeforms like us like to have at least one decent meal per day. Not to mention, I never had a chance to be picky about my food!" he barked a bit at the end. Such was the truth. As far as he remembered, he was alone searching trash cans and bins for anything edible, there were even times when he had to steal from others.

The ebony hedgehog didn't stop frowning, but he had to admit the other one was right. He had heard about him how it worked in the future and this kid didn't have an easy childhood. Still, the thought of eating that cursed fruit was making him disgusted.

Eclipse very well noticed his foul mood and added and oil into the pan by saying: "And he promised to join us!"

"WHAT?" barked the other hedgehog punching the glass tube making the time-traveler shudder and jumped away from him, only if there was more space for it.

"But his appearance..." Black Doom was thinking out loud.

The Darkling turned towards him not wanting to miss this chance. "It's because his blood is weak. I'm sure if he gets a fresh dose he will look normal." The leader said nothing, only slightly holding his chin in a thinking manner.

"Isn't that overkill?" The silver psychic leaned against the back glass.

Eclipse scratched his cheek like a naughty child, calming his new bother: "Don't worry, it won't hurt." He returned back to the second capsule. "I don't wish to lose another 'brother'." With a whispering voice, he added: "Please, stay with me."

The psychic's amber eyes were twitching, moving from one person or object to another. This was bad! Superbad! What was he supposed to do? He glimpsed some metal-like boxes and other stuff. The eyes flashed down noticing the pedestal was having a panel with buttons and some touch screen area or what that was.

"So..." the young hedgehog silently started, "I'm your brother, am I?"

"Yes!" he strongly nodded, clenching his fists.

"And your blood will… do to me what?" He slightly pointed at himself.

Eclipse was more than happy to explain it to him: "You will gain the mind-link to our master Black Doom and to me. And not just that, you will acquire an ability to command any Black Arms' troop or soldier." He was talking so fast he had to take a deep breath to not turn purple. "But more importantly, you will get the proper colors. Then you will be a true part of our kin."

It seemed the hedgehog was thinking about it. "And my psionic powers? How they will be affected?"

The Darkling made a wide cheesy smile. "They will be even more awesome! You will be able to do much more with them."

"I see..." he muttered in a thinking manner.

"Don't even think about it!" shouted Shadow, kicking and punching the glass in futile attempt to break it.

"Be quiet, you traitor!" barked Eclipse, slashing a hand in his direction.

"The color change… does it include physical transformation?" The psionic hedgehog asked with his fingers forming a tilted triangle.

"Em," the young alien needed a second to think about it, "I guess. I'm sure we can arrange that."

"Yahoo!" he squealed like a small girl, jumping in the air. "That means I can get rid of this stupid quill-cut!"

The ebony's red eyes widen. He couldn't believe his own ears. Was Silver really moving to the dark side?

"I kind of like it, but if you wish so, it can be arranged," noted Eclipse happily.

The newest member of the Black Arms stopped jumping, turning toward Shadow, making a long nose. "No more 'that maple-hog'!"

"What? What the heck you mean by that!" The offended hedgehog kicked the glass with renewed strength.

"I mean, I finally found the place where I belong." He looked at his palms. "I have never understood, why I have this power. No one was like me. It was so… frustrating."

"Are you crazy? These guys are nothing more than monsters!" he yelled almost breaking own voice.

"What can you know? Some fake hedgehog can't understand me!" Silver barked back being unusually aggressive, then he turned toward Black Doom with a determination reflecting in his amber eyes. "Let's get on with it." Eclipse was jumping in the air with his Dark arms dancing around him. This was such great news. "And can you let me out. You know… small spaces… claustrophobia…" The psychic fidgeted showing a great anxiety.

"Just a sec," Eclipse pushed some buttons on the pedestal and the glass dissolved or some other way disappeared. The hedgehog stepped down.

"Now, let's us proceed, our new member," said Black Doom who was mostly observing. Whether this being had a Black Arms' blood in its veins was irrelevant. It was his strange power that counted. Once harvested, his kind would move to a new level, gaining new abilities. They were slowly walking… and levitating towards the door.

Just a few steps behind him were Eclipse and Silver whose right hand was tightly hugged by the other. "You know," whispered the alien, "let's keep this fluffy fur. It's so nice." He rubbed his forehead against it.

"No problem," he answered and his left hand started to glow. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

These silent words made the alien lift his head and say: "What do you me-?" His sentence was cut short as a big box engulfed by blueish aura hit him to temple shaking his brain. The alien shrieked being tossed forward on the ground with astonished Dark Arms following him.

"Chaos Control!" shouted Shadow and warped outside of the tube. He immediately created a number of Chaos spears and threw them toward Black Doom, but the big alien flew higher avoiding all of them. The young psychic tried to hit him with at least one box, but they all ended up on the wall.

Shaken Eclipse squinted at the duo. "H-How? W-Why?" he asked with trembling voice. He tried to get up but his legs refused to listen to him.

"Did you forget our last fight?" Shadow answered his first question. "With enough big impact to the brain, you will temporarily lose your blocking ability. I have made sure Silver knows about it." With these words, he skated after Black Doom trying to hit him in a close-combat but his body kept phasing, disappearing and emerging at a different location across the huge room.

"Aren't you, our… my 'brother'?" he whispered toward the other hedgehog with his vision still slightly blurry.

"I'm sorry, Eclipse, but I can't be your brother like that. I have a future I have to protect no matter what." Silver's voice was firm, but there was uncertainty in his eyes. He felt guilty for using the young Darkling's hopes like that.

A loud noise made them look up. Shadow there slammed into the wall cracking it and Black Doom still seemed unharmed. "So it was an act, huh?" he muttered, not sounding too surprised. He must have counted with that possibility.

The ebony hedgehog skated along the wall looking for an opening. "Silver would never admit his quills are stupid," he said with a smirk, attacking the big alien with a spinning homing attack. However, his opponent again phased into space. "Blast it!" cursed the G.U.N. agent upon landing, looking around to locate him.

The psionic hedgehog's surprised shriek showed him the right direction as Black Doom appeared behind standing Eclipse.

"Now I see," he said, "I was questioning myself why aren't you bound to hive-mind, Darkling." His voice sounded colder than usually giving goosebumps even to Eclipse who leaned his head back. "I was foolish to think there may be anything in it." He grabbed the small head, digging the sharp claw into the skin.

The small alien yelled with pain and tried to get free. "Wait! What are you-! Gyaaah!" he screamed even more as the leader forced his hive-mind control over him.

After a few seconds, the big hand let go. "Now, that's better," noted the leader of black Arms, feeling satisfied.

The yellow eyes of the small alien were empty and his voice sounded somehow artificially. "I live and serve to my master Black Doom."

"Now go and destroy that black hedgehog!"

"Yes, master." His hand grabbed astonished Cyzer, giving his hands thick and blue gloves-like armor. On the palms, he got one big eye which was capable of shooting laser beams. There was no hesitation in his behavior and Shadow was forced to retreat. He had never seen him so aggressive.

"Did he just brainwash him?" shouted Silver and his urge to hit Doom into a face was rising. How could he be cruel toward the member of his race?

"Don't worry, white hedgehog," chuckled the monster.

"I'm a silver hedgehog. Do you have that third eye for decoration or what?" barked at him the young psychic in unusual sarcastic manner. His hands were engulfed by the bluish aura and he took a fighting stance.

"Impudent creature. Soon I'll harvest not just your powers but your life too," roared the leader of the hive-mind. With a wave of his hand, he called his minions who entered through the oval door. Silver very well recognized the ones from the outside. Most of them were smaller and he guessed those were the most common pawns. The bigger aliens were having spikes growing from the spine and carried thunder-like swords. The hedgehog really hated their empty stares coming from big yellow eyes. It was creeping him out.

There was a momentary stare between them before the soldiers dashed toward him like a wave. "Uh, oh!" the young psychic gasped, flying above their heads, trying not to be hit by laser shots. "You won't bring me down!" he shouted, trying to sound convincing and confident... two things he was utterly lacking. He lifted metal boxes, tossing them down, but they were shattered in the air. Not even one hit them. "Oh, crud," he whispered scared... his confidence kissed him goodbye. 'I think I have a problem here,' he muttered in his mind. Winning... might be impossible.


	8. The Imprisonment (2-3)

Meanwhile, Shadow had full hands with his possessed half-sibling. His attacks have got more aggressive, and they gained on raw power. The ebony hedgehog learned it the hard way when he was slammed into a wall. However, instead of finishing him off or delivering next blow the alien jumped back.

The hedgehog got out of the hole, seeing how Eclipse was checking his own body. Well, technically speaking, it was Black Doom doing the inspection.

"He has so much potential, but he can't tap it," he said, clenching his blue fists. "Free will is unnecessary!" A twisted grin appeared on his face. "I shall remove unnecessary parts of his consciousness."

Shadow shivered. Was Doom planning to do brain surgery? He growled, having the answer before his eyes. The leader of the hive-mind aliens was capable doing something so cruel.

The Darkling smirked as he started to fire lasers, and the stripped hedgehog was forced into the defensive. Yet, he slipped under the shots, punching him into guts. The Darkling flinched for a moment, that was all Shadow needed for an upper-cut. The small body was cast into the air. At that moment the hedgehog realized he could use Chaos powers, as he called them out of the habit.

In his hand, he created green, sparkling rod when Eclipse's body disappeared in the wink of an eye. The black hedgehog's body froze, realizing Black Doom warped in front of him, aiming the laser on his chest. With an evil grin, the shot was released. At the same moment, Shadow lowered his hand with prepared Chaos Spear, creating an explosion. The shock wave tossed both away, slamming them into walls.

The hedgehog caught, getting on his feet. Through the smoke walked Eclipse. It was obvious his body was in pain, but Black Doom kept controlling him.

The ebony hero shouted: "Why don't you fight me, you coward! You always hide behind others!"

Black Doom only laughed. "My minions are enough for you. I don't need to use his unique ability to block your Chaos Control neither his transformation," he snorted. "It's too imperfect for now, but I shall complete it." He snapped his fingers. "I know," he said in a happy sounding voice, continuing creepily as usual, "I shall capture you all, keep you alive, and extract your D.N.A.… very slowly," he added at the end, licking his lips.

The black hedgehog barked: "You bastard! You would torture the member of your kind?" It wasn't like he suddenly started to like his half-brother, but he hated senseless violence and cruelty.

"If he has free-will," he smirked, "it would be a shame not to let him enjoy it."

Shadow roared, punching him with a strength he never knew he had. It made the other fly backward, falling on the ground. Black Doom was about to shoot a new laser beam when the wisp left his body. "Weak bastards!" he yapped, kicking the eel away. "They won't last even for five minutes!"

Before the G.U.N. agent could do anything, mind-controlled Eclipse warped away to get new Dark Arm. He didn't care, there was a silver hedgehog standing in front of him. He grabbed the cube-wisp, forcefully fusing with him, and obtaining a sturdy, bio-armor.

He warped back while examining his blue body. "This is neat," he noted, "I may also start mass-producing these small fellas." He smirked at red-seeing Shadow who didn't hesitate to use his spin-dash attack to cause himself a headache, as the body-shield was hard as hell. The pain reminded him even Omega's claws shattered when he tried to eviscerate him in this form. However, the hedgehog didn't care. All he wanted was to punch Black Doom out of Eclipse's mind.

* * *

While was Shadow causing himself great pain with each blow, Silver was trying to stay alive. The black soldiers were coming from all sides, and the blocky wisp disappeared before he could do anything. He hurried toward the remaining wisps, putting them under his protection. Enemies or not they were helpless, and he couldn't watch how the Black Soldiers tried to capture them.

"Take this!" shouted the young psychic, throwing boxes at them. He was making sure to take some down, although it didn't make him happy. This was the type of battle he hated the most, but there was no other way around it. Shadow explained to him those creatures were soulless puppets. They felt no pain, emotions, or remorse. They were nothing but biological weapons.

"There is no end to them," he murmured, seeing their number doubled. "We can't stay here!" He lifted his body and took the wisps with him, flying into the corridor. There he had met troops wielding laser guns but quick maneuvering, some tossed soldiers, and a lot of somersaults did the trick and got them through the passage.

"What about this!" he shouted at the latest group, taking away their thunder-like swords, stabbing and impaling them to the ground. He retreated further, finding an empty spot where he decided to take a breather. He leaned against the wall, looking at scared wisps. He was about to tell them something encouraging when a green flash blinded him for a second.

"Useless trash!" roared Black Doom's voice as he teleported for another Dark Arms. The exhausted Blurk was tossed on the ground.

The wisps screeched, seeing their beloved brother looking ruthless and cruel. He was always caring towards them, and even though he occasionally shouted at them, he loved them. Eclipse's cold and empty eyes fell on them, and cold shiver took control of their small bodies.

"Show me what you've got!" Possessed Darkling reached for Rhygenta. Silver snapped out of his shock, but he still was too late to stop him. However, Rhygenta was faster, avoiding his claws, sinking her tiny teeth into Eclipse's forearm while crying.

"You stupid tool!" he roared, and her small body was smashed against the wall. "How could he believe you could be useful?" Black Doom shouted before warping back, leaving them behind without a care.

"Are you okay?" Silver called her, kneeling in front of the black wisp, picking her up. There were tears coming from her big eye, but she wasn't crying because of her pain but for her friend. The young hedgehog gritted his teeth, looking at Blurk who wasn't able to lift his own body. _'That dastard!'_ he cursed him in his mind.

He got up, picking the hurt wisps with his telekinesis. "Let's go." He looked around, noticing a certain detail. "Wait!" His eyes widen as his brain proceeded that information. "Where is the fourth one?" He quickly checked them. "Where is… Cyzer, right?" he asked the flying Cregal who sadly nodded.

"What now?" the silver hedgehog mumbled. "How can I find him?"

The flying Dark Arm started to make a lot of noise, and it seemed he was trying to convey something urgent. Silver was watching him for a second, before asking: "Do you know where he is?"

The other nodded with happiness sparkling in his eyes.

"Then let's not waste any time! He may be in danger!" He followed Cregal who lead him further into the comet.

* * *

While was the time-traveling hedgehog looking for the lost wisp, Shadow was losing a breath. This fight was dragging for too long, but he wasn't able to deal a decisive blow. Thankfully, Eclipse was also affected.

"Well, well," said Black Doom, "this one doesn't have a bad endurance." He checked his body a bit. "I'll take my time breaking his body and perfecting his D.N.A."

"You sick monster!" barked the ebony hedgehog and leaped at him, kicking him from above, but his leg was caught, and Eclipse threw him away, smashing him into the wall. Shadow got dizzy for a moment. However, he still stood up. He looked straight into his eyes, noticing Black Doom was focusing on something different. He followed his line of sight, finding the eel wisp Cyzer was crawling away.

A cruel smirk appeared on Darkling's face, twisting it into a grimace. "A little worm is trying to live, huh?" His voice was cold.

The shiver ran down the black hedgehog's spine. Compared to Black Doom his half-brother looked like Samaritan. Eclipse dashed toward the helpless wisp, and Shadow did the same, trying to stop him. Nevertheless, that was something the leader of hive-mind expected and strong, swift round kick sent the G.U.N. agent flying.

The sinister laughter filled the room. "How predictable!" he noted. "Always rushing to save every pathetic creature you see."

The hedgehog was on all fours, coughing and holding his stomach. That hit was stronger then he expected. He jerkily lifted his head, seeing how the wisp was now in his grasp. "What do you want to do to him?"

Possessed Eclipse's face got twisted for a brief moment. "What?" His voice was full of disdain. "Even if I tell you, you won't understand!"

"Isn't he part of your kin?" he quickly added, stalling for time.

"A part of my superior race?" he barked full of anger. "This useless appendix," he strengthened his grip, making the poor Dark Arm squirm and yelp with pain, "needs to be taken care of before it infects the others!"

Shadow growled, getting on his feet. He knew he had only one shot if he wanted to save that wisp. Despite he was technically his enemy, there was no doubt who the real villain was.

Eclipse grinned. "What? You want to save this worm?" He squeezed it more and waved his hand. "Come and get it!" he mocked the ebony hedgehog.

The other roared, creating a chaos spear above his hand and throwing it. The Darkling's eyes widen as the spear was aimed at wall meters away from him. He couldn't help but look how it destroyed the wall, doing absolutely nothing to him.

"What were you—Uagh!" he yelled as something sharp dug into his butt. He tossed Cyzer away, leaping from his spot to get away from the attacker while holding his backside. Once he landed, he looked over his shoulder.

"You?" he bellowed, looking at Cregal who struck him from behind. That trash dared to attack him! He turned to jump at him, but his jaw was punched by Shadow's tightly clenched fist.

"Already forgetting about me?" Shadow mocked him this time, but he knew those were empty words. He had hardly any chance of winning. Even if he defeats Eclipse, there were still troops of Black Arms, not to mention he had no idea where Black Doom was hiding now.

The ebony hedgehog quickly retreated to Silver who was checking on Cyzer. The flying wisp was standing guard in front of them, growling in Eclipse's direction.

"Any plan?" asked the younger hedgehog.

"Beat him to a pulp!" suggested his friend, and despite sounding confident, there was only a small chance they could survive this.

"I think, I've got an idea," whispered the young psychic, and based on his fierce eyes he was done with playing nice guy.

Shadow smirked. _'Who would have thought he can look dangerous, this cinnamon roll.'_ He shifted his attention to the possessed Darkling. "I'll keep him busy." He dashed at him without waiting for a reply.

"Still trying to avoid your fate?" Black Doom asked angrily, slowly losing patience.

"My words!" barked back the ebony agent, spin dashing and flinging him on the ground.

"Enough!" roared Eclipse, and his body got bigger. He gained more muscles, sturdy looking body plates, his claws become sharper, and on his head formed yellow crown-like structure.

"Ha!" shrieked the ebony hedgehog, "I thought you said you don't need his monster form to beat me!" he mocked him, making him angrier.

"It would be a shame not to test it!" He ran after Shadow, trying to hit him, but this time the hedgehog was keeping his distance.

This transformation was draining Eclipse fast, so he only needed to stall for the time. At the same time, he was making sure to keep him focused on himself, so Silver could have time to prepare his plan, whatever it was.

' _Just be quick!'_ He leaped back, colliding with something. Before he could see what it was, two strong arms strongly hugged him. "Dang it!" cursed the agent realizing too late he bumped into the chest of Black Oak, getting trapped in its bear hug.

Black Doom laughed, lifting his tightened fist to deal a decisive blow.

"Hey, ugly!" shouted Silver, and a crate landed on Eclipse's top of the head. The box was shattered, having hardly any impact.

Eclipse felt annoyed, so he slowly turned back, saying: "Was that supposed to—UAGH!" he yelled as a much sharper projectile burrowed into his forehead, shattering the crown, shaking with his brain.

"No, this was!" answered the psychic, seeing the huge body fell on Black Oak holding Shadow. Thankfully, the agent was able to escape at the last moment, landing on all fours. "You okay?" Silver, who was rushing to him, called him.

Shadow got up. "Warm me next time when your plan includes crushing me," he answered with a small smile.

"I thought ultimate lifeform can handle such trivial matter," replied amused psychic, earning a wavy smile from his companion. It wasn't every day he could say that.

"What did you hit him with?" The agent checked his body, finding no serious injury.

Cregal shakily flew to them. "I have had help. I engulfed this wisp with my power, shielding him, and giving him an extra edge."

"Hmm, clever." He had to admit that was a good idea. Hitting Eclipse in the head was the best shot they had. And speaking of him, he heard him got up on his feet cursing.

"You wretched creatures!" roared Black Doom, officially ticked off to the max. He could tell the temporary body was reaching its limit. The biological armor was torn down, and he was covered with some yucky substance.

"Just let him go already!" shouted Shadow, dashing there.

The silver hedgehog bit his lip, he was hoping that hit would free Eclipse from the control. _'What can I do?'_ There was no way he would risk smashing his skull, and he was sure Cregal hadn't recovered for another shot, and the same tactic couldn't work. He could only watch how those two were fighting.

His stomach voice a query for some food. "Oh, come on, this is no time for eatin- Eating?" His eyes widen as a sudden thought hit him. "I can try that!" He flew towards them, leaving the confused wisp behind.


	9. The Imprisonment (3-3)

He overcame the distance in a matter of seconds, appearing from behind Shadow and diving down at Eclipse, pinning him to the ground. Before anyone of them could react, Silver grabbed his head and slammed their foreheads, then the bluish aura engulfed both of them, and from their painful moans, it was obvious it wasn't a pleasant experience.

After long seconds, the aura was gone, and they gasped. The young psychic slid down on the floor next to the Darkling. Shadow quickly dragged him away, asking: "What have you done?"

The time-traveler tiredly smiled. "I kicked him out of the brain," he whispered, getting on his trembling legs.

The ebony hedgehog looked into Eclipse's eyes, seeing the usual spark was back.

"What-?" the Darkling weakly said with his real voice. Black Doom was no longer controlling him. His body was shivering, and the tiniest movement was causing him pangs. He started to cry and tried to crawl away.

"Don't move, you will hurt yourself," Silver soothingly said, kneeling next to him.

"I have..." his voice was hardly audible, and tears were coming from his eyes in endless streams. "How could I..."

"No, no!" ensured him the psychic. "That wasn't you!" He was now sure Black Doom let Eclipse see and hear everything he had done to his family.

Shadow was watching them in silence, and his fists were shaking like crazy. Such cruelty! There was no way he would let Black Doom get away with it. "Take care of him!" he loudly said to his friend. "I have got another business to attend!" he growled, dashing at tremendous speed into one corridor.

"O-Oka..." His voice died, realizing he couldn't hear him anymore. He looked around. This room was empty, but it could soon be full of Black Arms, so he picked all of them and decided to find a safer place.

He flew quite a distance, noticing no soldier or warrior was after them. He found it strange. _'Is Black Doom thinking he can beat us without any help?'_ While it was hurting his pride, you wouldn't hear him complaining. However, it was causing him worries, it meant Black Doom was confident in his victory, they, after all, were tired.

With his eyes, he saw something that looked like a small cavern under the ceiling. _'This place will do.'_ He headed that way, putting them down, making sure they were together. Eclipse was for the whole time whimpering and sobbing, hardly noticing what was happening around him. His weak hands reached for Rhygenta, pulling her closer. His breathing was irregular, and he from time to time made a hoarse sound.

Silver was watching him, and his anger rose to another level. He was never looking for a fight, but this time he was willing to make an exception. He turned on his heel and flew forward, returning to the previous room, not meeting any aliens. He scanned the place, but he wasn't able to find which tunnel Shadow took.

' _Crud!'_ His eyes tried to determinate the right path. _'Which way to go?'_ His tightened fist was loosened up a bit.

* * *

Around the same time, Shadow finally found the central room of the Black Comet, bursting heavy metal door like nothing.

"Ever heard of knocking?" asked him mockingly the leader of hive-mind.

The ebony hedgehog wasn't in a mood for sassy answers, as he wanted to tear this alien apart.

"Chaos Spear!" he shouted, and a green rod of energy was shot in his direction. However, it only hit the ground as Black Doom became invisible and invulnerable for a few moments.

"You coward!" barked the hedgehog, looking around. His ears were turning like crazy, trying to pick his location. Shadow was sure he will try some dirty trick. His eyes inspected the room, glancing columns, gel cocoons on the walls, and big creepy looking throne.

"Why to hurry when we can savor our meeting," sounded the eerie voice through space. A cold sweat ran down hedgehog's spine as he heard something was using the transporting lines. He held his breath and from the cocoons emerged the hugest Black Arms he had ever seen.

Their bulky bodies, overflowing with muscles, were completely black except for heads that were covered with bright red scales. Shadow was sure they weren't slowpokes despite their size. Neither of them carried any weapon, and that meant their forte was hand to hand combat so getting caught in their claws meant certain death. He was sure one was bad news already, but five of them were worthy of the front page.

The black and red fur hedgehog bristled, and a few drops of sweat appeared on Shadow's forehead. A low growl escaped his lips as he recognized it was one of them that knocked him out in the underground shelter.

"I see you like what you see," Black Doom noted sarcastically, who appeared above the new type of warriors. "I call them Black Masters. Can you guess why?"

The ebony hedgehog's ears pricked. Somehow that question was creeping him out. "Masters?" he slowly repeated.

"Yes, Masters," he assured him he had heard it right. "I named them after a particular gemstone." A sinister snicker escaped him.

Shadow bristled even more, and his fists were so tight that the gloves were on the verge of bursting.

"I should have come here sooner if I knew there was such power source." For a short while, he glanced his newest creations. It took him a long time to cultivate them. He made countless experiments since the power of Master Emerald was beyond his belief. It was hard to control it, and that resulted in many specimens ending with an explosion.

The evil alien chuckled. "Don't bother searching for those lesser stones. I have made sure to completely harvest their powers. They are now just pebbles." He threw his head back and laughed. When he stopped, an eerie silence spread across the room. "And now… be destroyed!" Doom waved his hand, and the battle started.

Black Masters despite their huge bodies were fast, too fast for Shadow's taste. They were able to keep up with him thought he was faster. _'Dang!'_ he cursed in his mind, avoiding a jab. The reason they were able to keep up with him was that of their synchronization. They were keeping him busy while throwing simple attacks. This tactic was meant to tire him down.

The ebony hedgehog clenched his fists, and with a bark he spin-attacked one giant, hitting him straight between huge eyes. The black ball bounced back, landing a few meters away, feeling a slight pain in his back. That Black Master merely looked at him, showing no reaction. A silent laughter, belonging to Black Doom, could be heard, shoeing his amusement of Shadow's futile attempts.

' _Their skin is tough!'_ He barred his teeth, unwilling to give up. A loud growl escaped him, and in his hand appeared a green rod formed by Chaos energy. He grabbed it, swinging with it. The stroke was aimed at the alien's throat, but the blade was caught in the last moment, and hedgehog was slammed into the floor. That impact left him groggy and dizzy. He knew he was in trouble, but his body refused to react.

"It's time for you to become part of my new conquest!" bragged Black Doom with a laughter hinted in his voice. His three eyes were focusing on Black Master who was standing the closest to lying Shadow. The hedgehog was trying to get up, but his body was sore. The Black Master lifted his clenched fist and swiftly burrowed it into the ground, shattering it.

"What?" snapped the hive-mind. His head turned toward a silver hedgehog who was panting. Shadow was next to him engulfed by a bluish aura.

"Guess I made it!" murmured the young psychic, letting his friend down.

The G.U.N. agent took a few deep breaths before speaking: "What are you doing here? You were supposed to stay with Eclipse!"

"Geez, no need to thank me for saving you from turning into a pancake," the other jested a bit, and the black hedgehog replied with an apologetic smile.

"How did you find me?" Shadow inquired, feeling grateful for the younger hedgehog's assistance.

He slightly shrugged his shoulders, looking a bit guiltily. "I think, my possible connection to those guys came handy. I was able to connect my mind to this," his eyes traveled from one corner of the room to another, "place and find you. And you don't want me to describe how I felt." He placed a hand on his stomach, indicating it wasn't a pleasant experience.

"No time for that," he merely stated concerned about the Black Masters. "We have bigger problems."

"Any idea who are those?"

"Black Arms powered by Master Emerald," the ebony hedgehog interposed.

Silver's eyes widened as he gasped: "You're kidding, right?"

"I wish I was," Shadow dryly replied.

"Any plan?" He looked at them as they were slowly getting closer.

Black Doom wasn't in hurry to obtain a victory. He must have preferred a slow torture and doing so to his enemy was definitely his top priority.

"Hit them fast, hit them hard, and be done with it," answered Shadow almost sarcastically.

The young psychic took a deep breath. "I can work with that."

"Done with your last words?" mocked them a hive-mind leader, sweeping his right hand in outward motion, sending his soldiers forward.

Shadow roared, darting forward with a clenched fist, hitting the first one into a jaw. The blow resulted in pain in hedgehog's knuckles, and a silent chuckle escaped Black Doom's throat. Silver quickly grabbed his friend, taking him from their punch-range, only to find out another one moved behind him. He put up a shield, embracing for the immediate impact that threw them backward on the floor.

* * *

The battle was heating up and no one, not even Black Doom, had any idea where Eclipse disappeared together with Cregal, leaving his wisps without protection. On the other hand, the hive-mind leader hardly paid any attention to half-beaten trash.


	10. The Rise (1-4)

Shadow leaped backward, feeling numbness in his limbs. The fight was taking them too long, and the Black Masters were showing no signs of getting tired. The ebony hedgehog was sure they were unable to feel it anyway. They would continue to fulfill orders even if their limbs were broken.

With his back, he bumped into a column. In the next moment, it was shattered by big fist, showering the escaping agent with crushed stones. Another Black Arm attacked him from the side, so he crossed his arms, protecting himself from the worst. The punch sent him flying, rolling on the floor, ending on his stomach. He tried to get up, but his arms were pinned to the ground.

"Chaos control!" he shouted, warping only a few meters away. He used most of his reserves, so this was the best he could do. He touched his inhibitors rings on wrists. _'I can still use this!'_ He growled through showing teeth. He dived roll to temporal safety, escaping for a second before another punch crashed the floor.

His eyes glanced at Silver. The younger hedgehog was struggling to keep his defense up. His telekinesis could grab anything and anyone, but those guys were too strong, resisting his pull. Shadow allowed himself to be distracted for a split second, and that almost cost him a big headache, as a swift punch missed his cheek by millimeter. The wind pressure invaded his ear, making it ring.

He landed on his feet, reaching his hand to take one ring down. _'That's it! I have to at least allow Silver to escape!'_ The ebony hedgehog already lived his life. It wasn't always about his choices, and it was never a life he wished for. Yet, he was able to meet different people, becoming their friend, ally, or enemy, it actually didn't matter because the bond was made, defining his existence.

When his hand was merely a millimeter from the ring, his body was once more pinned to the ground, but this time a headbutt from behind was dealt on top of it. His arms were spread and tightly grabbed. In front of his eyes were stars, and his vision got blurry. He grimaced, wrinkling his face in a futile attempt to clear it.

"Shadow," enunciated Black Doom slowly, "I'm very impressed by your skills." In his voice was genuine appreciation. "You were always stubborn and strong. The image of a perfect soldier."

"Don't you say," the ebony hedgehog cynically replayed. Eventually, his vision got better, but the grip on his body was too strong.

Their conversation was observed by the young psychic; however, his hands were full, and his mind was occupied by thoughts directed toward his shield, as three Black Masters tried to crush it with heavy blows. His amber eyes frantically searched the room in a hope to see something useful.

' _There has to be somethin—Ugh!'_ he shouted in his mind as the shield was hit especially hard, forcing him to fall on one knee. He could feel his arms were weakening. _'I need to find a way!'_ He gritted his teeth and tried to push the aliens away, but they were too heavy for him alone to thrust them back. His ear pricked, as he heard Black Doom speaking:

"If you beg for my forgiveness, I'll accept you to my hive-mind," the hive-mind leader offered to Shadow.

"You don't need telepathy to know my answer," hissed the ebony agent back, and he would swear he heard the monster to chuckle.

"Very well," the hive-mind leader said with tiredly sounding voice, but that was soon gone when he gawped: "Then begone!" He swept his left arm wide, but in the half of the movement, it stopped. "Wait!" There was a confusion on his face. "What's that?" He stared at one gel-cocoon, as a big bulge was traveling through it. It couldn't be any of his soldiers since he ordered them to stay back. The exit burst revealing flying Eclipse.

"Gyaaaaahh!" The Darkling's bellow shook the room and in his clawed feet was a big, green jewel.

"Master Emerald!" shouted Black Doom, unable to understand how that pathetic excuse for Black Arm dared to touch it. He should have broken his limbs to render him immobile.

The yellow eyes stared at the leader of Black Arms, filled with hatred, sorrow, and sadness. Then his crimson wings took him toward still pinned Shadow.

"Stop him!" barked Black Doom the order, and two Black Masters left Silver, joining the third one, and that left each hedgehog with just one opponent.

"Chaos Control!" he abruptly yelled, warping his body away from his Black Master but too far from the emerald.

Those aliens weren't dumb or blindly following orders. Two separated from the group, heading toward Shadow while leaving descending Eclipse to the last member.

"No!" growled Silver, lifting the alien with his shield. "You won't!" he roared, flinging the huge figure like a doll at the duo approaching the ebony hedgehog.

His friend smirked, leaping forward and landing on them with both feet, before bolting forward with one big jump. Both mid-air figures were just meters from Master Emerald when Eclipse tossed it in the opposite direction.

"Dang!" cussed the ebony agent, having a harder time to change his trajectory. Fortunately, the other Black Arm was having the same problem. It clumsily turned in the air, but the gemstone was far from its reach.

The ebony agent extended his hand, grabbing the big clawed toe, climbing on the falling mass and using it as a platform for another jump. This time there was no obstacle in his trajectory, and he was sure he will make it. Unfortunately, when he was just a short distance away, the stone was hit by red plasma ball, flinging it further, making Shadow miss. "No!" he exclaimed, turning toward Black Doom who fired at the last moment.

The eerie figure headed his way. His frowning eyes were saying the games were over. No more playing a nice man-eating alien. No more bragging and dragging the torture. Only swift death for his enemies!

The stripped hedgehog bared his teeth. He reached for his ring, ready to throw it away when his hand was grabbed by clawed fingers. His red eyes widened as he realized it was none other than Eclipse. Tears were escaping his yellow eyes, and the flying wisp was floating toward the ground.

The screaming muscles in the small body tightened, swinging with the hedgehog, throwing him toward the falling stone. However, Black Doom wasn't intending to let them have it their way. He prepared new plasma ball, and when he shot, it crashed into a flying body of Black Arm.

"What?" screamed the mastermind, feeling the heat generated by the explosion on his skin.

"Missed me?" mocked him Silver with a smug smile. He was short of breath, but he sure had good aim.

The monster's hands squeezed into fists, his anger almost erupted from his shaking body. In his whole life, no one dared to oppose him so long. No one dared to be so impudent in front of him! He was invincible!

The burst of anger was interrupted by a sudden light, and all of them could feel the room was filled with intense energy. Just from standing in it the psychic felt his wounds were recovering a bit. The blinding light lasted for several seconds before dying out, revealing a golden hedgehog with red stripes.

He was levitating, and his body was enclosed by a fiery aura. Shadow the Hedgehog taped into the deepest part of Chaos Powers that were stored in the emerald and acquired his Super form, gaining an almost invincible body, enormous strength, speed, and stamina. His eyes gained a glow, and as he punched through two Black Masters only glowing streak followed him.

"You!" barked Black Doom, seeing how the last Black Master was killed.

"Called me?" provoked him the golden hedgehog with a smirk, and he bolted at him, but the ever elusive Black Doom phased into space, retreating. Thankfully, the super hedgehog now knew which way he went, so he pursued him through the Black Comet.

Silver, who was watching all of it and catching a breath headed to lying Eclipse. He wasn't able to grab him, so he was worried he might be seriously hurt. The Darkling's body was shivering and trembling, his breathing was hoarse, and it was obvious there wasn't a muscle spared of pain in his body.

"Don't move," Silver gently told him when he tried to get up. He picked him up with his psychic ability and flinched as the whole room shook. "Man, Shadow must be packing a punch!" He lifted Cregal and gave him encouraging nod. They did an awesome job. Without them, they would be dead. He didn't forget to bring Master Emerald with him.

After a short while, they arrived, finding the sleeping wisps, safe and sound. Eclipse was gently put next to them, and his wobbly arms hugged Rhygenta, sobbing once more.

"Take a rest," the psychic uttered under his breath, taking the gem and flying to find Shadow thought the shaking comet.

The said hedgehog was now bursting wall after wall, destroying everything and any alien in his path. "Show yourself, you coward!" he yelled as his blow smashed a group of soldiers.

"You shall pay for this!" roared Black Doom. "You haven't seen my real power yet!"

The ebony hedgehog was looking around, but he couldn't see him. Suddenly, the aliens moved toward the walls, and they merged into them, coloring it dark red and black. His fur bristled as he felt a strong rise in Doom's power. The corridors became eerie and gloomy, and a strong gust of wind passed through it, almost blowing him away.

A sudden thought passed his mind, and he burrowed into the ceiling, bursting it, continuing forward until he got outside. There he glimpsed a huge figure that grabbed him in the next second. He stared into a big, red eye that belonged to transformed Black Doom.

He fused with the comet, taking roots in it. His body was so big it was casting a shadow on the planet below. From his head spurted three pairs of differently shaped horns. His mouth was equipped with sharp teeth with two pairs of mandibles as well.

"Do you now see your foolishness?" Even his voice was transformed, piercing hedgehog's ears. "Black Arms is the only race worth of the life!"

"Switch a channel, jerk," replied annoyed Shadow and slowly pushed thick clawed fingers back.

"Impudent till the end I see," the monster dryly noted, balling his fist.

The caught hedgehog realized, getting free might not be that easy. He bared his teeth and released a burst of energy, burning the other and bolting toward the big face. His attack was, unfortunately, halted by plasma ball the alien fired from his mouth, but that wasn't enough to stop him. Not him.

The young psychic was able to witness the fight from inside of the comet. His ears flopped when he saw the monster Black Doom had become, not that he was miss universe before. He started to bite his thumb, gradually noticing his friend might not win this one. His brain started to be occupied by gloomy thoughts.

' _What can I do? This looks bad! Shadow can't hit him! What should I do? We can't win like this!'_ He shook his head. "Dang it! Stop being negative!" He dug a hand into his quills. "Uah!" He shouted as something yucky touched his foot. "What's that?" he shrieked as he lifted his body into the air.

The floor was crawling with some black pulsating substance. It was snapping after him, trying to pull him down. In front of him, from the walls spurted root-like vines, and they started to fill the space. His fur stood up. The comet was trying to eat him!


	11. The Rise (2-4)

He jerked backward, hitting the gem behind him. As he touched it, he for a moment felt someone gently tapped his shoulder. He immediately looked behind, but nobody was there. The black mass bolted forward, catching his hand and leg.

"Let go!" he barked, yanking his limbs, flying away. _'Is he trying to absorb the whole ship? I have to get out!'_ He abruptly stopped as he finished that thought. He immediately thought about helpless Eclipse and his wisps. He was ashamed, how could he think about himself where there were others having trouble?

He turned to face the black mass that was catching up to him. As he glimpsed his reflection on the huge gem, a spark appeared in his eyes. "I don't know if I'll be able to control myself or the power I'll gain."

The black substance was reaching him. He put his palm on the smooth surface. "But I'll give it my best shot!" The amber eyes closed, and the hidden energy from the gemstone poured into his small body. The waves of light vanquished the black mass, turning it into dust.

Meanwhile, Shadow was shot in the shoulder, but before he could scream in pain, the space around him was engulfed by warm light. The pain in his shoulder slowly subdued.

"What's that?" the monster angrily shouted as a big, blue ball slammed into his torso burning him.

A new light ball stopped next to the golden hedgehog. It was Silver, his fur turned light gold, and his eyes gained red color.

A bellow escaped Black Doom's throat. He didn't expect there could be another hedgehog capable of transforming. He kept playing with them for too long!

"Don't like warm welcome?" the powered-up psychic sarcastically asked with a smug smile.

Black Doom's already twisted face was deformed even more with rising anger.

"How do you feel?" asked him Shadow. In his naturally red eyes was a mischievous spark.

"How?" the other barked. "I can lift whole mountains. I can juggle with planets," he boasted, clenching fists and bending his body forward a bit. "But what more!" he shouted. "I want to wipe the universe with that jerk-face!"

"That makes two of us!" added Shadow, but his voice was drowned in the loudest bellow Black Doom made, and the hive-mind barraged them with energy balls that formed in front of his body. Each hedgehog went a separate way circling the enormous body.

Shadow went to the right, avoiding projectiles and firing Chaos spears. Most of them collided and exploded ten of meters away from the monster, but that wasn't important since the smoke provided a nice cover for him.

' _I have to hit him from point-blank range!'_ he thought, avoiding blindly shot projectiles. "Chaos Control!" he shouted, trying to warp closer, but nothing happened. Instead, his body was zapped by electricity, coming from a shield around the whole comet.

The shock numbed his body for a second, and that was all Black Doom needed to hit him with a big ball of plasma energy. The explosion burned Shadow's fur and flung him at the end of the comet, where he dug his nails into the surface to slow down.

"How did you like that?" inquired the monster with confidence.

Silver was on the other side of the huger body, so he couldn't see what happened, but he guessed Black Doom scored a big hit. He gritted his teeth, avoiding the energy bullets. His eyebrows knitted, looking at the second face this monster had on the back of his head. How much uglier he could get?

All the time the golden hedgehog was moving in the air, trying to figure out what he can do. He couldn't use Chaos Energy like Shadow. His thoughts distracted, and if it wasn't for his reflexes, he would be hit by a plasma ball.

' _Come on! Think of something!'_ he scolded himself. _'Use that brains of yours!'_ His aura mixed with bluish light and the incoming projectiles were engulfed by a blue glow, halting in the mid-air.

"What!" roared Black Doom, seeing his own attack was turned against him barraging his body.

"How'd you liked it?" queried the young psychic with confidence in his voice. That soon proved to be not so wise thing to do.

Black Doom roared, sending towards him numerous balls. The hedgehog made squealed, and he would put up a shield, but he decided to went into offensive, diving into the storm of projectiles head on.

' _This is taking too long!'_ Shadow brood. He already shook the worst shock. When he was about to engage the monster, Black Doom opened his mouth, and a thick laser beam headed his way. He was faster than it, so he had no problem avoiding it, but the ray hit the tail of the comet, completely obliterating it.

"Why so scared?" Black Doom mocked him upon seeing Shadow's shocked expression. "Worried about someone?"

The striped hedgehog balled his fists, baring teeth. In his mind, thanks to a loose connection to other Black Arms, he made a quick check on his unconscious half-brother. Thankfully, he wasn't hit and was far enough from the hole, but at this rate, he wouldn't be safe for much longer. He pondered why he actually cared. Wouldn't it be good if he died in this battle? One less problem to worry about.

His ears jerked, as he noticed something was happening inside of the comet. He wasn't able to tell what it was, but it couldn't be anything good. He dashed toward the monster, avoiding his claws, going behind him where the second head was, heading his friend there.

Silver was avoiding and throwing back the ball projectiles, and based on his expression, he wasn't able to land any decisive hit either.

"Silver!" shouted the ebony hedgehog, joining him.

"Good to see you!" replied the other. "Any idea how to beat him?" He threw one ball back for it to collide with another.

"We need a single big hit!" he informed him of the vaguest battle plan ever.

"Big hit?" Silver repeated, and their eyes met. At that moment their minds figuratively connected, as they got the same idea. They flew side by side forward, looking like shooting stars. They burrowed into the comet once there Shadow saw what was giving him such bad feeling.

The whole place was overgrown with roots-like vines and some black substance was covering the walls, trying to grab them. From above he could hear the monster's roar, and the comet shook like crazy with big cracks forming on the walls. It looked like Black Doom was trying to compress the whole thing, crushing and trapping them. With a burst of energy, they propelled themselves down the corridors, smashing through walls until they found Master Emerald.

It was mostly covered by the black mass, but the hedgehogs quickly cleaned it. The gemstone was dimly shining, so it looked it might not have enough energy for anything. Silver was for a short while worried, but he quickly shooed it away. They could only try. With the gem they soared above the comet, appearing in front of Black Doom.

"What do you think you can do?" he barked. "It hardly has any energy left! I have sucked it dry years ago! Your transformation used the last speck of power it had!"

"We will see about that!" yelled Shadow back, tightly pressing the stone while Silver did the same.

' _Please, help us to beat this monster!'_ Silver sent a silent prayer toward the gemstone, and its surface started to shine a bit.

Shadow poured his wish inside too, and the glow got stronger.

"Gaargh!" Black doom was squealing with pain as the ray of light touched his body. He would never think that old gem could still have so much power. He ran countless tests, and neither showed anything extraordinary. He kept the stone just for the sadistic pleasure to remind himself of his most satisfactory victory.

The light was getting stronger and stronger, playing tricks on Black Doom's vision as he would swear new shadowy figures appeared behind hedgehogs. The shadows soon created a crowd, and all their eyes were on him. The evil hive-mind called his power, directing it into the invisible shield that prevented anyone to use Chaos Control for warping and made thunders rain down on them.

"Chaos-!" shouted the duo in unison, and the mightiest wave of light engulfed them all, wiping the thunders and drowning Black Doom's roar. And then they were gone in a flash.


	12. The Rise (3-4)

A big flash erupted in Sun's proximity. Their lungs were immediately filling with unimaginable heat. Both hedgehogs caught their throats, needing a few seconds to get used to it. Black Doom squirmed, roaring and chaotically throwing energy balls. He felt his energy was draining was. He had to teleport away! He tensed his body to make a big jump away from the burning star when his stomach wBlack Doom was in so much pain, he didn't notice Shadow's fur once more changed a color. Now it was whitish, and sparks were coming from his body. His crimson eyes were glowing with energy, and as he was flying there were afterimages left behind penetrated. A bellow escaped him, and his hands tried to catch Shadow who was responsible for it.

The hive-mind leader grabbed many of them, not realizing Shadow was already gone. Every futile attempt to catch that hedgehog resulted in Doom becoming furious. He threw towards him numerous plasma balls, but this time the grim hedgehog was capable of turning them into a dust with a mere touch.

"What's this?" Black Doom demanded, not understanding how can someone like this exists.

"Your end!" Shadow answered, diving into his body, creating another hole.

"You can't!" He refused to acknowledge he was losing. "I'm the only one-!"

Shadow roared as he was getting closer: "You are just a heartless monster!" A big punch broke a number of monster's ribs, and blood burst from Doom's mouth, evaporating in the next seconds. His body started to burn as his power was depleted, leaving him without protection. The comet was slowly dragged toward the Sun with the struggling alien.

While was Shadow making sure Black Doom wouldn't miss his date with the Sun, Silver was dashing through the comet with the emerald hovering behind him. Inside was hot like in a frying pan, and he was glad the super transformation protected him from the worst heat. The psychic didn't notice his fur turned whiteish too, but he was too concerned about Eclipse and his wisps to pay attention to a cosmetic detail.

He burst through walls and black mass that was turning into a dust upon his touch, and finally, he had found the place he left them. The psychic gasped as the black mass was just inches from the cave opening, and he quickly destroyed it.

Once all the mass was gone, he covered them with his psychic powers, shielding them from the heat. Silver made sure to check all of them, thankfully, they all were breathing. With this, he completed the easier part of the plan Shadow entrusted him. Before he left to deal with Black Doom, he instructed Silver to find an escape pod. They should be located on lower levels of the comet, but the psychic had no idea where. He took a deep breath, heading down. There was no time to lose.

He dug into the floor, going deeper and deeper, trying to find anything that remotely looked like a small spaceship. On his way he was passing by those gel-cocoons when they started to explode, sprinkling him with the filling substance. He shrieked as he freaked out, hurriedly getting rid of it from everyone. But this wasn't his only worry, the corridors started to bubble, indicating the whole ship was getting fried. He burst through a wall, finding himself in an open area.

"This is it!" he shouted, seeing the place had launching pads, and each had an escape pod. He was glad they were pretty big able to hold tens of people. He swiftly picked one, inspecting the opening mechanisms. To his luck, he only needed to press a single button for the door to open. He put Eclipse and his Dark Arms inside, making sure they are comfortable before closing the door. Then he lifted the whole ship, heading outside. Before he left the room, the walls started to crumble burring everything.

"That was close," he gasped as a shiver ran down his spine. "Now to finish this!" He sped up, hoping Shadow wasn't in big trouble.

His super friend wasn't having any problems. He just finished putting the fifth hole in Black Doom's body, rendering him completely powerless. His attempts to capture the hedgehog had gotten so weak they were almost laughable.

"Shadow!" called him approaching psychic.

"Perfect!" he replied as he turned around, glad to see their ride to safety.

Seeing them together with a way to escape made the dying alien furious. He moved all his power in his mouth, turning the comet into dried plum, and a big ball of energy started to form between his mandibles.

When Shadow opened the door of the escape pod, he looked over his shoulder, clenching his fists and frowning. "Go ahead!" he told his companion, moving a bit forward. "Guess somebody still needs one last finishing touch!"

Silver looked at his back. Something was a bit off. His eyes widen as he noticed his back quills were slowly turning black. His super form was disappearing. Before the ebony hedgehog could rush toward the enemy, Silver grabbed him, tossing him into the escape pod.

"What?" barked the hedgehog as he hit the opposite wall.

"You go on ahead!" shouted Silver, closing the door. He pushed the pod with his power forward, facing his enemy as the beam was just seconds from firing. He balled his fist, lifting it in the air, and his power responded with manifesting it above his body in thousand times bigger version.

"Knock it..."

The beam was fired at the same time Black Doom's back started to dissolve.

"OFF!" he yelled, jabbing, and the punch flew forward, shattering the beam, continuing until it smashed the alien's body to pieces, ultimately sending him into the Sun. His weak roar was soon gone.

The time-traveling hedgehog gasped, feeling the power was escaping from his body too. _'Gotta move back,'_ he weakly thought, noticing his body was becoming numb. He flew in the direction he sent the pod, but the Sun was pulling him back. He put everything in his escape, but his mind was sluggish as the stress was taking its toll.

Out of blue, a flash engulfed him, and before he knew it, he was on all fours, coughing and feeling cooling metal under his limbs. He looked up, seeing gasping Shadow.

"Dang, it!" his friend uttered. "Don't have such stupid ideas!"

Kneeling Silver weakly smiled. "Didn't know you make a reservation."

The other smirked, gently nudging him in the shoulder. "Nice work, kid."

The psychic was too tired for an answer, so he showed him a thumb up. Shadow helped him to his feet, moving him closer to a wall. "Hold on tight, I'll do one last jump closer to the planet," he informed him before leaving to the cockpit, leaving him in the storage room.

"O-okay," he murmured, feeling the sweat was soaking him as they were still too close to the Sun. He was so glad whatever technology Black Doom had was shielding them from the worst.

In the cockpit, Shadow took a deep breath before taking down his golden rings on wrists. They weren't just part of his modest attire but functionated as limiters for his Chaos Powers output. Without them, he would drain his body too quickly, and that could result in death. Even taking them down for a short time could leave him severely drained, but this wasn't time and place to worry about such detail.

He had to move the whole ship as far as he could. He concentrated on the lingering energy left by the super transformation that was still inside of him. "Chaos Control!" he shouted, and the whole escape pod was engulfed by a green flash of light. The room vibrated, but that was all that happened during the travel.

Once they warped, he felt tired and wobbly, but he still had to pilot this alien ship, or they will crash land or end up drifted in the space. He quickly put his inhibitors rings back, taking the seat and trying to figure out how to pilot this thing.

' _Well, Eclipse was able to fly this in my world, so it can't be that difficult.'_ With this thought, he took the wheel.

Meanwhile, Silver let out a deep breath since the teleportation was successful. The vibrations surprised him, and for a moment he was afraid the spaceship would break, but that didn't happen, so he could finally relax a bit.

He would fall asleep, but his eye caught a glimpse of lying Eclipse. He crawled to him, inspecting his body, making notes of many bruises, scratches and light wounds that covered his small body. He gently patted his head, and that made the Darkling jerk. His yellow eyes shot open like he had awoken from a bad dream. They weren't focusing on anything at first before locking on Silver's face.

The hedgehog smiled, but the other shivered, gasping: "G-Go away!" He lifted his weak body, dragging it away.

"Don't move!" The psychic held his shoulder. "You are badly hurt!"

"No! No! Go away!" he continued to cry, trying to take his wisps with him.

"Don't worry," the psychic continued, soothing him, "nobody will hurt you. You can relax." He caressed his quills, hoping it will do the trick. To his delight, it worked, and his cries turned into silent sobbing.

"You lied!" Eclipse muttered after a while. "You said… you would be… my 'brother'! Traitor!" he barked at the end.

"I'm sorry, I had to lie." Silver was feeling bad for what he had done. Using somebody's trust for their own goals was selfish and cruel.

"Why?" the young alien plead. "You said you will be my brother."

"There is… a place I want to protect that is really important to me." His home wasn't perfect, but there were his friends, and the future of all people might be resting on his shoulders with the whole Genesis Portals problem.

"You would bring your family to extinction because of that?" Eclipse bared his teeth, swinging his arm to push Silver away, but it only made him stop petting him. "Why do you care then? We aren't family!"

The psychic needed a few seconds to know what his answer was. "Because you are hurt." He again patted his quills. This gesture was unknown to Eclipse, and for some reason it made him feel safe. The psychic continued: "You genuinely love your wisps. I don't think you are a bad person, and I'm not gonna be idle when there is injustice happening in front of me!"

The hedgehog softly smiled, looking down at sleeping wisps. "I'm truly sorry, I have lied to you," he repeated. "I don't know if we share blood or not, but I know one thing for sure," ha made a slight pause, "Black Doom wasn't part of your family," he said firmly looking into his yellow eyes.

"How can you say that?" the alien barked, feeling tears to appear in his eyes. "He is our master!" The way Eclipse said it indicated he wasn't fully aware of what was happening just hours ago.

The psychic slightly shook his head. "Family isn't about blood relationships, although I can't speak for myself." He took a deep breath. "I never met my parents, I don't know if they are still alive, if they loved me, or if they abandoned me." His eyebrows knitted a bit. "But I know my friends are like my family because they helped me to feel wanted. They gave me the feeling of belonging somewhere, and I'll do anything to protect them."

The alien angrily growled: "Even hurting your real family!" A couple of tears slid down his cheeks.

"We may not share blood, but we share something more valuable and stronger," he continued patiently. When he saw a confusion on Eclipse's face, he answered: "It's a trust. We take care and support each other. It's something you build with your own hands, it's not something that's given to you. That's the reason why it's so strong because it's built by multiple people at the same time."

The hedgehog softly smiled, nodding in the direction of sleeping wisps. "Isn't it what you share with them?" The alien looked at them too, feeling a strange sensation in his body. "They trust you since you take care and protect them."

Eclipse gently touched them, occasionally wincing with a pain, but he was endlessly grateful they weren't seriously hurt.

Silver continued: "You love them so much you went against Black Doom and helped us to beat him." When he finished the sentence, he knew he shouldn't have said it.

Eclipse's eyes widen while his pupils shrunk and started to twitch. It looked he wasn't able to breathe as hoarse sounds were escaping his lips. He caught his throat, curling into a ball. "I... I...!" It seemed he was getting a panic attack.

The psychic hugged him, loudly saying: "You didn't do anything wrong."

Darkling's body jerked, and with one swing he pushed surprised hedgehog away, tossing him on his back. A saliva was escaping alien's mouth, and his movements were jerky and disoriented. He lifted his body on shaky legs, trying to run away, but after one step he fell on the floor, curling up.

He kept uttering words like traitor, impossible, extinction, and others until he dug his claws into his forearms, hurting himself.

"No, stop!" called him Silver who tried to break his grip, but his anxiety was too strong it gave his body unexpected strength. But staying like this would only harm him. "Eclipse, listen to me!" He shook with him, but there was no response it only made his claws dig deeper.


	13. The Rise (4-4)

Silver was desperate, and there was only one thing he could do. He pressed his forehead on the alien's one, slowly connecting their minds. He remembered serene sceneries, making them flow inside Eclipse's brain. It took some minutes before the Darkling calmed down and awoke from his panic attack.

"Feeling better?" asked the psychic, and the other nodded. He resumed his petting, and after a short while he continued where he stopped: "You did nothing wrong," he softly said, observing Eclipse's reaction, and since there was nothing, he went on: "You are not traitor. You did the right thing since you have protected your true family."

Silver felt Eclipse's head moved a bit to see the group of Dark Arms. They were still peacefully sleeping, not knowing what was happening around them. The psychic kept on: "Black Doom saw you only like tools he can toss away whenever he feels like it. He brainwashed you to hurt them. Someone like him was never a family."

Eclipse focused his attention on the cold floor unable to look into the amber eyes. He could tell they were full of softness and gentleness. It kind of reminded him Black Death his master and creator. He was also having encouraging words for him, and even when he got angry at him, he listened to his reasoning, allowing him to do more beyond the orders.

"There is no shame in that," said Silver's voice. But the alien couldn't help it. He felt terrible for going against his kin; however, he felt unmistakable hatred towards Black Doom for hurting his wisps.

"If you want… I can be your brother. Not bound by blood but by trust and respect."

Eclipse's eyes widen, and he looked at the psychic. Watery yellow eyes locked into Silver's amber ones. The alien's lips were shivering he had to bite them to calm himself down. How much he had yearned to hear those words. How much he wished to have a brother who would support him, one he could look up to.

He weakly lifted his body, throwing himself around Silver's neck, hugging him and crying, digging his face into the soft fur over his chest. It was so fluffy he was asleep within minutes. The psychic continued to pet his quills until he was sure the alien was soundly sleeping. Then he moved him to the slightly squirming wisps that felt their friend wasn't close.

He slowly and gently moved wisps around Eclipse's body. They immediately let out a sigh of relieve. He kept watching them for a bit longer before heading to the cockpit. There he found Shadow sitting behind the wheel, looking forward seeing the planet Mobius was getting closer.

When the door silently closed, the ebony hedgehog said: "We will be landing in a few minutes." He snorted: "With Black Doom's so superior technology you would think this thing can fly fast." There was sarcasm in his voice, but Silver remained silent, standing behind him. "So, what do you want?" prodded him Shadow, suspecting he has something serious to say. He put his legs on the wheel that was slowly moving as it was controlled by autopilot and crossed them.

"Eclipse saved our zone," Silver said after a small pause.

"Meaning, I'm supposed to let him live, right?" Shadow frowned, responding with a question.

"In a manner of speaking… Yes," the psychic firmly answered.

"You saw Black Doom, Eclipse is the same," he reminded him. "I have already told you about him."

"Yes, I'm well aware he came to our planet with the intention to destroy it much less like Black Doom." Thought Silver agreed with him on this matter, his voice was showing he wasn't completely of the same opinion. "And this same Eclipse saved your quills."

Shadow huffed, silently growling under his muzzle. He was well aware of that. If Eclipse didn't bring Master Emerald, they all would be pierced by numerous pipes and needles to get their D.N.A. extracted, and their minds would be wiped away, turning them into mindless slaves. He surpassed a shiver. The thought of him returning to his zone as a puppet and destroying everything he vowed to protect was sickening him.

Silver continued: "He isn't evil. He was taught his race is the only one right that others don't have the right to live. He never had a chance to learn anything else, about others ways to live, about respect, friendship, or bonds." Ther the younger hedgehog made a short pause. "In a sense, he is a lot like you."

"In which way?" Shadow asked annoyed. They were nothing alike!

"For a start, you both believe you are ultimate lifeforms," Silver responded with a slight smile on his face.

"Because I'm!" barked the other hedgehog, halfway turning toward the psychic on the spinning chair. His boots touched the floor with a loud bump.

The psychic put a hand on his right hip, tilting his body in the same direction. "Do you have a certificate?" He playfully lifted an eyebrow. It was obvious he was teasing him.

"I have what?" he repeated.

Silver's posture straightened up, and it was clear he was now serious. "Think about it! You believe you are ultimate lifeform because everybody told you so. Eclipse is the same. Give him a chance to change and prove himself."

There was a distant memory that flashed in Shadow's crimson eyes, but it was soon gone. A memory of certain blonde girl and space colony hovering above the planet Mobius where he was created and spend a small portion of his life. The older hedgehog silently turned away, looking forward.

"We are going for landing, fasten your seat belt," he dryly announced, crossing his arms.

The psychic observed him only for a second before returning back to Eclipse. His group was still sleeping, so he sat next to them, watching and making sure they won't wake up during the landing process. They didn't enter the planet atmosphere until two hours later. It was a bit bumpy ride, but Shadow made sure to fly safely.

Once they touched the ground and the surface of the ship wasn't like frying pan, they opened the door and Silver took the sleeping group of aliens out. Around them was vast desert, but some city was visible in the distance. They arrived a short time before the sunset, as the sun was above the horizon. It will be cold soon, but the heat coming from their spaceship will keep them warm for a while.

Silver informed Shadow he had to get something and left before the ebony hedgehog could complain. The grumpy hedgehog silently growled, and his crimson eyes fell on Eclipse. He tackled with him in the past, and he swore he will end Black Arms' terror, permanently. This was a perfect opportunity. The naive psychic was gone, and the alien was defenseless. Nobody was standing in his way. For a few times, he tightened his hands into fists, before heading back to the ship.

There he found Master Emerald. The surface was dimmed and lifeless. He wondered if it would ever recover its previous gleam. He touched it, feeling only a bit of lingering energy. He closed his eyes and concentrated before making a big jump across the planet. He repeated this process for a few times until he found the ruins of the Angel Island.

It was a home of a certain stubborn echidna who guarded it, and it used to be a nice place full of greenery and different zones from mountains, lava lakes, and snow plains. Now only a top of a shrine was barely visible as the sand covered it. He moved closer, placing the gem at the top.

The gem slowly spun in the air, regaining a little of his previous shine, and the sand started to shake. That was all Shadow needed. He turned away, saying: "Guard it better next time, knucklehead, 'kay?" He waved his hand before skating away. If he stayed for a while longer, he might have noticed a red face's reflection upon the gem surface for a brief moment, or maybe it was an illusion of the light.

In any case, he reached the edge of the island before it took to the sky, resuming its rightful place. He looked over his shoulder, watching the sand to rain down for a bit before speeding up.

Many minutes later he reached the escape pod, finding Eclipse was slowly waking up, rubbing his eyes. His wisps were gradually regaining consciousness too. The Darkling shuddered, noticing his half-brother was so close. His small body twitched, hardly recovered from the worst. They kept staring at each other eyes, when Blurk happily shrieked, dashing toward approaching Silver.

"Whoa there!" The psychic laughed and lowered a big container full of Red Fruit.

The blocky wisp jumped into it, gulping one piece after another, and his two brothers soon joined him.

"Blurk!" called him Eclipse, seeing how his skin was covered by the red juice. "Start chewing already!"

For once, Cyzer and Cregal weren't fighting over their food, probably too tired and hungry to waste any energy. The only one not being messy and stuffing their face was Rhygenta who slowly moved forward. The psychic took a few pieces, putting them in front of her.

"Good appetite," he encouraged her. It wasn't necessary as she dug her tiny teeth into the skin, sucking the juice.

Eclipse wobbly moved to her, taking a seat next to her, accepting the fruit Silver gave him. The ebony hedgehog walked toward the pod, leaning against its now warm surface. He let the heat spread into his whole body. Finally, he could relax, so he closed his eyes. They were closed only for a minute or two when he heard someone got closer.

In front of him was Silver, offering him one round piece. "Want some?"

"No, I'm not hungry," he slightly growled. No matter what, he refused to eat that disgusting thing.

"Okay," he responded and took a big bite from it, heading back, sitting next to Eclipse.

The alien was stuffing his face almost faster then the psychic could bring the new fruit. He was glad he harvested three plants, but it still might not be enough.

"When is the next Genesis Portal opening?" inquired Shadow after a few minutes.

The psychic with stuffed cheeks looked at him, slurring: "Duhno." He chewed and swallowed it when the ebony hedgehog lifted his eyebrow. "I don't know," he answered clearly, "in a minute, in an hour, in a week… They don't have a schedule."

The other hedgehog nodded deeply in thoughts. _'That means we can be stuck here for who knows how long,'_ he snorted. He had no time for that, there was a place he had to protect at all costs. However, there was nothing he could do but to wait. So he sat down, making himself comfortable and pushing the growling sounds coming from his stomach back.

Silver's radar started to beep when the sun disappeared behind the horizon, and the wisps were all stuffed and snoozing.

"Speak of a portal…" He activated his radar, checking the holographic screen while two pairs of eyes were on him. "There will be one opening pretty soon."

"Where it is?" inquired Shadow. "Will it takes us back?"

The psychic stood up, pointing toward the distant city. "It should appear somewhere there," he answered the first question. "Most of the portals are connected to your time and zone." He shrugged his shoulders. "But I can't guarantee anything."

"That's fine," the ebony hedgehog replied. "Let's move there in a case there is some monster on the other side, so we won't need to deal with it later," he added.

They headed there, and it took them some time, but they found the destination at the outskirt of the city. Shadow didn't bother to inspect that place, as he had enough of the gloominess this planet was full of. He only wanted to return home.

After another minute, Silver's ears picked the familiar shorn-like sound, and the swirling energy ripped the space. Eclipse watched it a bit. If he wouldn't be so desperate the last time, he might haven't jumped into it. He could have ended up in much worse place. The psychic placed his hand forward, analyzing the energy readings.

"So, does it lead to the home or not?" asked Shadow impatiently.

Silver turned toward him with lowered head, so it was hard to see his eyes. The ebony hedgehog clenched his fists. _'No luck, hmpf!'_

"Yup!" the younger hedgehog jolly announced, making the other hedgehog twitch.

"You jerk!" He dashed to nudge him into the shoulder. "You did it on purpose!"

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist," he smiled and rubbed his shoulder.

Shadow immediately jumped through it. The silver hedgehog looked at uncertain Eclipse. Silver held his hand out. "Let's go together."

The alien answered with a nod, slowly crossing the border between two different dimensions. It was a strange feeling to overcome such impossible distance with a single step. The young hedgehog for the last time looked around, saying his silent goodbye to this sad world before returning home too.

Once there he closed the portal, seeing they were in a jungle. Half-brothers were staring at each other, and the atmosphere got tense when a shrieked cut it:

"Shadow! Do you copy?" yelled high-pitched scream from Shadow's mini ear communicator he didn't lose during the adventure and completely forgot about it. This sure wasn't a way he wanted to be reminded of it.

"Rouge, stop yelling!" he shouted back, pressing his ear.

"Shadow? Shadow? Is that you?" sounded from the other side. He could tell she had a hard time believing it.

He turned away from Eclipse, making a small smile. "Who else?"

"Where the heck did you disappear?" Once it was confirmed her partner was alright, she could be angry at him, having no need to hold back.

"I entered Genesis Portal. How long I was gone?" He was worried he was gone for a long time, but he was glad it didn't take them to a recent past, creating a time paradox.

"Ugh," he heard her growling. "About three hours. And why did you jump into a random portal?"

"Eclipse ran through-"

"Do you have any idea where you could end up?" Rouge shouted from the other side, ignoring her partner was trying to explain himself.

"I was..."

She refused to let him talk: "And without our backup to boot, you dumbhog!"

He felt down, but this time he was reckless. However, her yelling would be more bearable if he didn't have a giggling hedgehog, who didn't bother to hide it, behind his back.

"You..." Rouge started, but this time Shadow interrupted her:

"I'm the ultimate lifeform. I can take care of myself. More importantly, where are you now?" His ears picked her grumbling.

"Just a sec, I'll tell you coordination." There was a slight pause before she placed her next question: "What about Eclipse?"

' _Now she asks,'_ thought her ebony partner with a bit of sass.

Rouge continued: "We almost had him. I hope you have good news because Omega was all this time grumbling about a lack of objects to shoot."

The grim hero once more smiled. He could imagine his tin-can teammate. What more, he felt eyes on his back, anticipating his answer. He took a deep breath, before replying: "Then I guess I'll have to offer him a sparring match as a compensation. I have lost him."

The alien jerked. Did he hear it right? Was it his imagination? Was he letting him go? Why? He hardly heard him mumble something about coordination before he set off to meet his team. Eclipse felt a soft pat on his shoulder.

"I guess this means we can find you some shelter." Silver jerked his head toward the jungle. Eclipse nodded, following him, entering deeper parts. It took them some time, but they discovered a small cave, and together they made it more comfortable to live inside.

After it, they explored the surrounding area, finding a river and fruit trees. They were having fun when Silver's radar went off. "Not again," he sadly mumbled, checking it. "I guess this means, see you later." He made sheepish smile, waving him goodbye and flew away.

Eclipse hung his head down, loudly sighing. He turned around when he heard his name. Behind him landed the young psychic, who returned, and it seemed it was urgent. However, he didn't speak immediately.

"Before I leave, I want to say something, though I'm not the right person for it." He made a slight pause, looking into his eyes. "Give it a try."

The alien wasn't sure what he meant, so he gestured him to continue.

"I know there is a lot of bad blood between you, but you are actually more similar than you think."

"Similar? How? I would never massacre my family!" Eclipse furiously shouted. Being compared to that traitor was disgusting him, but at the same time, his stomach was gripped by ice-cold hand. The Black Doom, he put his hopes into, almost killed him and his wisps, despite they were a family. He still didn't know how to comprehend it.

Silver continued with a soft voice: "You both are stubborn, headstrong, and you love your families dearly. So much you will do anything to protect them." He gently smiled, and there was a loud beeping coming from his radar, but he ignored it.

The alien balled his fists. "That's not!" he muttered.

"Eclipse," the psychic firmly pronounced his name, "for Shadow his home and family are here on this planet. This is the place he belongs to, he was born and raised here." He slightly nodded. "He may not say it, but he has many friends too."

The alien fidgeted a bit, unable to understand how one can throw his family away for strangers. How can something be stronger than blood ties? He had so much to say, but he kept quiet, letting Silver finish his speech.

"I have told you, I have no memories of my parents, right?"

The Darkling nodded.

"If they would show up in front of me, I think I would be happy." He smiled, and there was a bit of blush on his muzzle. "There would be so much to talk about and catch up with. However," his happy voice turned a bit darker, "if they would want from me to hurt my friends and destroy my home because they deemed them inferior… I would stop them."

"But your family!" Eclipse silently barked.

Silver sadly shook his head. "Family is not just about blood. For me, my friends would be more my family than two people that appeared before me after such a long time. I'm not saying I would hate them for it. It's complicated." He took a deep breath placing serious question: "Would you kill your Dark Arms if Black Doom ordered it?"

Eclipse shivered and looked at them.

"Of course not, because they are your true family. You share invisible bonds stronger than any blood can provide." He tightly clenched his fist. He stepped closer, hugging him. "I won't pretend I understand you, but I know you and Shadow can solve this problem between you without hurting each other. It may take time… maybe a lot of it, but if you both try to understand each other, I'm sure you will be able to live side by side."

Eclipse had no answer, and he didn't return the hug, he didn't know how, but the softness of Silver's fur was warming him up. He didn't know how to respond. The horrible experience with Black Doom's brainwashing and now Silver's gentle words made him thinking and unsure about his own actions. His hands moved forward, trying to imitate the hug when he radar loudly beeped, startling them.

"Okay, okay!" shouted Silver at his Genesis radar, stepping away from Eclipse. "I wish I could stay longer, but there may be somebody in need of my help." As he stood there a wind gently swayed with his quills. "But don't worry, we will meet again. Maybe sooner than we both think. Those portals can have a strange sense of humor." He made cheesy smile, waved him once more goodbye and flew toward a new adventure.

Eclipse was watching in that direction for a few minutes even though the psychic was already gone. Blurk gently nudged him and was patted in return.

"Let's go," he said to his family, and together they entered the cave. There were so many things to think about and more to do, but before all of it, they needed to take a rest.


	14. Special

The big Black Comet was moving through space. It looked magnificent, but with closer inspection, it had a creepy atmosphere around it. It wasn't a falling star like other comets, but a spaceship of alien race know as Black Arms.

Those aliens were cruel, living only for a complete destruction of planets they visited. Each and every one was sucked try, robbed of all life, and no place was spared of their terror.

However, even they were hit by hard times. Their leader, Black Doom, was killed by his own genetical "son" named Shadow the Hedgehog. Originally he was supposed to be their agent on the planet Mobius, and his mission was to collect seven powerful gemstones known as Chaos Emeralds.

During the invasion, Shadow turned against Black Arms, and after a long battle, he killed him. With the fall of the leader, the soldiers died too as all were connected to Black Doom. Only a small group of them survived since they were under direct command of Black Death.

This servant used to be the second hive-mind, and now he was the only one capable of revenging his race and restore it to its previous glory. Unfortunately, he knew too well he had no chance of beating this hedgehog. The number of Black Arms' soldiers drastically decreased. They couldn't conquer any big planet or area.

Nevertheless, he hadn't decided to give up, and so he created Eclipse the Darkling. He was unlike any other soldier. He was specially created to rival Shadow using Black Death's D.N.A. Not just that, he was designed to surpass him in strength, and he had the ability to block Shadow's Chaos Powers.

Black Death shook his head and sighed a bit. 'Eclipse is taking his time,' he thought, glancing at big floating screen in front of himself.

It was showing a colorful planet full of small creatures with unique powers. According to their research, those beings were able to transform one's body and gave it a big boost in speed, offense, or defense. Some could also provide a mean of transport.

The screen was connected to flying starfish with a big eye. It was a seeker providing visual and sound footage, and it worked as a speaker too. Black Doom ordered it to accompany Eclipse to the hunt of those small beings. Originally, they were supposed to raid this planet next, but they scratched that when Black Doom died.

The screen in front of him showed Eclipse carrying about ten small creatures. They all were squirming, but their physical strength was minimal.

"Master Black Death," Eclipse called him. "I have gathered the samples."

"Good," stated the new hive-mind, and his voice was coming from the flying starfish. "Return at once, we have already lost a lot of time," he said firmly. He was against this side-trip, but Eclipse convinced him to include their blood into their race.

"Yes," he answered and headed to a small space pod. Inside he took samples of their bodies, and then he released them. However, there was hardly a kindness in his gesture as he shouted, "Just run you pathetic creatures!"

He didn't need to tell them twice. "Tell the whole planet Black Arms will be back to devour you all! Tremble in fear till then!" He laughed at the end, happy how scared they looked. After this, he flew to his mother ship.

"Where are those creatures?" asked Black Death when he just saw tubes filled with glowing substances.

"I have let them go to spread the fear across the planet," he said proudly.

Black Death frowned, but Eclipse started to speak about benefits they would get from this. It was true they were a few in numbers, but he still wasn't sure if this would be worthy of the delay.

With Eclipse they headed to their egg-nursery to infuse embryos with the samples. It took them a few hours as no soldier could do it. They were created for destruction and not careful manipulation. When they finished, over one hundred eggs started to grow in the hatchery.

Black Death conveyed orders to soldiers to guard this place well and fly toward the Mobius. After this work, he was heading to his chamber to take a rest. Halfway there he heard his genetical son call him, "Master Black Death."

He stopped on his track. "What is it?"

"It's about my brother," he started, "he is just lost."

Black Death's vision turned red. "He killed our master and massacred most of our troops!" he barked. "He has to die!" He pivoted, but a tug on his long robe told him Eclipse clenched it.

"B-But I can do it! I can convince him to return home!" he was pleading.

Black Death would yell at him, but he couldn't be angry once he saw his big puppy eyes. His hand twitched with a desire to pet Eclipse's head, but that was too alien motion even for an alien. Instead, he moved both arms behind his back.

"Shadow had turned against us," he continued with a calmer voice. "He is too dangerous to be left alive."

"I understand," the young Darkling added. "That's why you have created me!" He let go of the robe. "But he is still my older brother. What if he is just confused?"

Black Death highly doubted that was the case, but he didn't voice his complaints and waited for Eclipse to finish.

"I can bring him back home!" He clenched his fists. "His strength would surely help us! We could be Twin Brothers of Darkness!" He spread his arms. "We would be even stronger!"

Eclipse was loyal to him and Black Arms. However, Black Death could now tell the idea of having a brother, somebody like him, was making Eclipse excited. It was so strong he even questioned his orders.

The older alien frowned a bit. "I'll think about it," he said at the end.

"You won't regret it!" Eclipse shouted as his master was leaving.

'I can only hope so.'

Everything went south. His plan for revenge was shattered, and the nuclear bomb was planted in the middle of the comet. Eclipse used up all of his power and was now helpless. The captured human soldiers were freed and were now moving back to their spaceship.

Black Death knew leaving Shadow alive was a mistake, yet he let Eclipse had it his way. For some reason, he couldn't completely refuse his request. He ordered his soldiers to move the unhatched eggs to an escape pod, and the rest was supposed to stop the intruders from leaving. Black Death knew there was no hope for his generation.

He cut the telepathic link with his genetical son who was carried away into the escape pod. He could still hear his voice calling him. The hive-mind turned around, finished with his business. In the same room was Shadow the Hedgehog, fully determined to end him, who also stopped giving commands to his teammates.

They used the last moments to make arrangements and to make sure their subordinates would be okay. Their eyes locked, and the fight could enter the final phase. Black Death was throwing fireballs at the hedgehog, questioning his loyalty. He reminded him it was Black Doom who gave him his life, and he was so ungrateful for it.

Shadow gave him his answer, but the alien wasn't listening. His mind was filled with memories of Eclipse. He used to check on his egg for hours per day, making sure he had all the needed nutrition. He had never spent so much care on a single soldier. Even the strongest ones got only one or two checkups per day.

However, with him it was different. Black Death wondered if it was because he was their ace against Shadow. Nevertheless, at this moment it seemed Eclipse was joker since he brought doom to their race. He should be angry and furious, but all he could feel was strange calming feeling that got stronger as the flying starfish confirmed Eclipse was now in the escape pod away from the comet.

Shadow jumped from his hiding place and shot a massive beam of Chaos Energy at him. Black Death had no time to evade it. His body was like in one fire. He should feel hatred, but there was no trace of it.

Instead, his mind was filled with more memories of his genetical son. He was proud of him. He was so young, yet he had shown so much promise. Before his last breath escaped him, he hoped for Eclipse to survive and resurrect Black Arms to greater glory than the last generation.

With his life gone, he couldn't hear his son's cries and promises of revenge against his half-brother. The bomb exploded, erasing their home.


End file.
